A Father's Love
by Apollomon x Stingmon
Summary: Nothing is stronger than a father's love. Not even those twisted in darkness and the manipulation of time can destroy what is meant to be eternal. A side story to "The Trials of Kindness" and the "Meaning of Forgiveness".
1. Chapter 1

**December 1, 2016**

Ken silently held his three-month-old son as he slept peacefully in his arms, unaware of how close he had come to losing his father to his tormentor.

Nothing has been the same since Tsubasa's betrayal. The overwhelming happiness and love he had once felt were shattered and gone. The hope he had held to finally overcome the pain and darkness—to finally live a normal life where he was loved and safe—that had entrapped him for so long, encased him once again, sucking all the light and life out of him. And in its place was an empty shell, numbness, and a shattered heart too small to be put back together.

Ken stared blankly at his son's room. Toys hung neatly on the shelving and pictures of the four of them laid innocently next to the changing table. Pain tugged at Ken's soul as he remembered the contents of the letter, the letter that had shattered his world.

She had left him for another man he knew nothing about, had cheated on him behind his back. How long had this been going on, he had no idea. Had this man been in his home when Ken had not been home? Had this man slept in _his_ bed with his girlfriend? Interacted with _his_ children? Ken shuddered. How? How could he not have known? How could he not even seen the signs until it was already too late?

Ken narrowed his eyes at the picture, wanting desperately to dispose of it, but had been unable to, just as he had been unable to throw all of Tsubasa's belongings away. He turned his attention to Kouji, who was still sound asleep in his arms. He wasn't the only one Tsubasa betrayed. Ken sighed as he closed his eyes to stop the tears that threatened to fall. Tsubasa abandoned her second born. She had made the excuse that it was because Kouji looked so much like his father. She hadn't wanted to be reminded of the man she never loved. But deep down, Ken knew that wasn't true. Tsubasa wouldn't have been able to get away with taking both her sons without drawing attention to herself.

Ken forced himself to stay quiet as he choked back a sob. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was falling through a very dangerous spiral of depression. He hadn't eaten much within the last three months and he rarely slept nowadays. Nightmares would plague him if he slept and the sound of the waves would always be just a sound away, wanting him to give in, wanting him to hurt himself and those he loved. And then there was Millenniumon…

The Evil God knew what words to say to tear him down. He knew how to use his doubts and insecurities against him. He knew how to make the still raw and bleeding agony so unbearable, pushing him to the brink of suicide and insanity.

Ken stared at his sleeping child with a heavy heart, guilt slowly creeping in, as he placed him in his crib. Kouji deserved better, deserved someone who wasn't a failure, a disappointment, a screwup. Who wasn't….broken…wasn't tainted…

_"Look at him." _Ken swallowed back the bile rising in the back of his throat. _"So sweet. So innocent." _Millenniumon's voice echoed in his head, his cruel voice mocking. _"Shame you will only taint his light with your darkness, Ichijouji." _

"No," Ken whispered brokenly, unaware of the waves surrounding his feet.

_"Yes, darkness follows you wherever you go, Tamer. You can never escape it. It will destroy all you love, don't you see? The longer you resist, the more pain it will cause…" _Ken could almost see him smile. _"… and it will be all your fault… just as Osamu's death was your fault…" _He laughed coldly, knowing just what to say to break his host. _"… just as your mother leaving you behind was your fault… all your fault."_

Tears fell down his cheeks, landing on the bandages wrapped around his wrists. He knew he was right. The harm he did to the Digimon, his brother's death, his mother's abandonment had all been his fault. Tsubasa was no different. She must have realized how dangerous, how tainted, he was to decide to leave him behind… in the arms of darkness… where he belonged.

The sound of the waves swayed gently in his ears, almost like a sickening lullaby. As the colors began to dull, bringing back the numbness, Millenniumon laughed, almost gleefully. _"Yes, that's it. Give in," _he said. _"No one is here to stop you this time, not even that brother of yours."_

Ken frowned slightly. He wasn't sure how long Takumi had been gone. He had said something about going to the drugstore to get more medical supplies for his wrists and something about food. Ken hadn't really bothered to pay attention as he stared blankly at the wall.

Ken turned away from the crib and entered the empty hallway of the small apartment he had shared with Tsubasa. He shivered as the cold numbness spread its poison into the core of his soul.

_He would be gone for a good ten to twenty minutes, _he realized, dully. It wouldn't be hard to remove the bandages and slice his wrists open again and maybe hit a few vital veins in the process. It wouldn't take long at all.

As Ken walked, Millenniumon whispered lies into his ear. He knew he shouldn't listen to the lies. But Ken couldn't bring himself to care. The numbness had pushed away all the sadness, love, and guilt he had felt when Kouji had been in his arms. With his presence gone, Ken felt… nothing, nothing at all.

"Hmm…" He stopped at the end of the dark and cold hallway and gazed into the open kitchen that was across from the living room.

Standing deliberately in front of the counter where the knives were, was the groom himself, Daisuke Motomiya.

* * *

Daisuke sipped some coffee that Takumi had left brewing in the kitchen before he hesitantly left with Jun to get medical supplies and much-needed groceries for his brother.

Daisuke could understand what he must be feeling. The last time Ken had been this depressed was shortly after he shed his Kaiser persona and Millenniumon's control. But this was different. Wormmon's death had cracked Ken's gentle soul, the abuse he endured from Mr. Ichijouji and Alphamon's attack had caused the cracks to spread. The love he got from the Minamotos, Takumi, and Tsubasa and the birth of his sons gave them the hope that he would finally be healed. Tsubasa's betrayal had shattered him completely, almost beyond the point of no return.

Daisuke took another sip of his sugary, caffeinated drink, but he tasted nothing, nothing but regret. The leader of the Chosen placed his half-full cup of coffee on the kitchen counter and sighed.

He knew Ken had been depressed the last few months, yet he had done nothing about it as he should have. Daisuke clenched his hand over the fabric of his kimono where his heart was. Ken's heart used to be in complete synchronization with his own, but now it was slower, irregular, almost on the verge of collapse.

Something was wrong with his jogress partner and best friend. So why hadn't he done something sooner? No, the better question was: why did it take Miyako, Takeru, Hikari, and Iori crashing his wedding with the aid of his sisters to finally see that Ken needed him?

Daisuke lowered his gaze to the wedding band around his finger. Anger, anger like he had never felt before filled him. Ivanna, the girl he met back in high school, had always been jealous of his relationship with the other Chosen. So much so that she had been slowly distancing him from them.

Daisuke removed the wedding band from his finger in utter disgust. She had known about Ken's depression. Knew that the single father needed his best friend's help, but she hadn't cared. She had seemed rather pleased when she heard that Ken had tried to kill himself. She had wanted Daisuke all to herself. However, she failed to realize how awesome his friends were and their closeness.

A Chosen always looked after their own.

With a snort of disgust at himself, he slammed the golden band on the counter. He had been so blinded by her lies, so blinded by his desire to be loved back after Hikari rejected him all those years ago, that he had become oblivious to Ken's pain and silent cries for help.

What kind of friend was he if he couldn't be there for his friend when he needed him the most? What kind of friend was he for not seeing that Ken was treading the waters of darkness once again? How? How did it get so bad that Ken felt that ending his own life was the only option he had left?

"Hmm…" Daisuke lifted his eyes and froze when he saw his best friend. It was worse than he thought. Ken had lost a lot of weight since he last saw him. His normally fair complexion looked sickly and the bags under his eyes were a sign of countless sleepless nights. Daisuke tried to ignore the bandages wrapped around Ken's wrists and instead stared into Ken's eyes. Ken's once bright amethyst eyes were dull and lifeless and, in their depths, he could see a familiar gray shadow slowly extinguishing Ken's light.

_No._

"Daisuke," Ken's voice held none of its warmth. In fact, there was nothing in it, just an empty shell of his best friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit my best friend?" He tried to keep his voice calm. Ken needed him to help him get out of the darkness he found himself trapped in. He just hoped he wasn't too late. "I'm worried about you."

Ken stared at him listlessly for a moment and at that moment Daisuke saw Ken's frail form flicker from their reality. Daisuke sucked in a breath, realizing that the World of Darkness was trying to pull his best friend in, trying to imprison him once again.

Hadn't he promised that if that world began to call for him again he would be there to help him, to bring him back? Hadn't he promised he would always be there for him, even when everything felt so utterly hopeless?

Hikari and Miyako had every right to worry. He deserved the slap in the face he got from Miyako and the slight disappointment and the lecture he got from Takeru and Iori. They did it because they cared, just as they cared about Ken, as well as fearing for his safety. They had tried to help him, but nothing they did was working.

Ken needed his best friend.

"Why? You haven't bothered before." Daisuke flinched slightly at that. He was right. He hadn't paid any attention to his best friend's wellbeing in over three months, nor bother to stay in contact. He had almost broken his promise.

"I know and I'm sorry. I have no excuse for my absence, but I'm here now."

Ken frowned at him. In the depths of his eyes, there was a sudden shift. The gray shadow began to reside, showing a little bit of amethyst that was trapped within the gray. "I can't always be the center of your attention," Ken said, and that made him narrow his eyes a little.

Ivanna had always said that every time he questioned her about a letter or email or deleted voicemail the others had sent him but had never received until weeks later. _The bitch. _

"You shouldn't be." The light scolding tone in his voice sounded like the Ken they had all missed, the one that had been filled with so much hope, so much life, so much love. The others', who had been silently sitting in the living room, watching the two of them, eyes lit up in hope. It was working. Daisuke was getting through to him.

"Li-san will be pissed that I'm burdening you with my problems again." The scolding tone vanished as the gray returned. "Go. Be with your fiancee. Get married. Be happy." He smiled for the first time in months, but it did not reach his eyes. Those orbs remained sad and somewhat distant. "Don't let me keep you any longer."

"Happy? Do you really think getting married is going to make me happy, knowing that my best friend is hurting inside and on the verge of suicide?" Without even thinking, Daisuke gripped Ken's wrists. He ignored the others as they sent him fearful glances. He ignored his half-sister's silent tears that she was trying so hard to hold back.

Julieanna had loved Ken since she first laid eyes on him. But never dared to say a word since Ken had been dating Tsubasa at the time. With Tsubasa gone, Julieanna still refused to confess her love. Ken had been hurt and was not in the right state of mind to get involved with someone else. Ken's pain was having a huge effect on her. She felt his pain, his loneliness, his sadness. There was no doubt in his mind that the two were soulmates, even if Ken does not know.

Ken looked at his wrists that were held gently in Daisuke's hands. "Maybe. Maybe not. I wouldn't really know," he said listlessly. Daisuke met his eyes again and felt dread in the pit of his stomach. "Li-san had already made it clear that you want nothing to do with me. I would only burden you more than I already have." How dare she? How dare she say that to his best friend? No wonder Ken hadn't bothered to reach out to him for help. No wonder his heart no longer synced with his. No wonder he was giving up.

"Ken you are not a burden. You are my best friend. I would always choose you over her in a heartbeat!"

He shook his head slowly as if he couldn't understand what he was saying. "Doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore." His form flickered for a second again. "None of you need me. It's better if I just disappear." Daisuke was only vaguely aware of the pain that passed over his sister's expression as she stood up from the sofa she had been sitting on, along with the panic on the others.

"That's not true! Don't you realize how devastated we would be if we lost you? And what about your parents and Takumi, it would kill them…" Ken didn't respond; the flickering resumed, and it seemed it would not stop until Ken completely disappeared.

"Ken!" Daisuke barely registered his own terrified scream among the other voices that mingled with his own. Daisuke barely registered the black shadow materializing behind Ken, nor did he register its wicked laugh that sounded so similar to when Ken had been the Kaiser, causing Hikari and Takeru to gasp at who they were seeing. He barely registered Julieanna running into the kitchen as tears freely fell down her cheeks. What he did register, however, was the acceptance and never-ending sadness in Ken's eyes and the faint sound of the waves.

Daisuke had never been to the World of Darkness personally. He only knew from what Ken and Hikari had told him. And it scared him a little, but he would be damned, the world would be stupid to think he, Daisuke Motomiya, would allow his best friend to go alone in his fragile state. If it wanted Ken, fine, it was just going to have to take him too, kicking and screaming.

The waves grew louder and the small apartment looked a bit more grayer.

"No!" Julieanna ran into the kitchen, sobs racking her small frame as she wrapped her arms around Ken's midsection and sobs onto his back. "Don't go! Don't go without me!" And then her form flickered as well.

The waves drowned out the other's screams as the small apartment morphed and shifted into a forest, washed out of all color and life.

_So this is the World of Darkness? Would have mistaken it for the Digital World if it weren't for all this gray. _Daisuke glance around his surroundings for a brief moment, hating the fact that they were in a dangerous world without their partners. They had to be careful to not run into Demon or those Hangyomon Hikari mentioned a while ago and that Ken had only referred to the Lost Ones.

"Why?" Ken's voice shook slightly. There was something in Ken's voice, something familiar. Daisuke turned his gaze to him, noticing the gray shadows were absent from Ken's eyes. He just looked tired and fatigued and hopeless. "Why did you follow me?"

"You are my friend, Ken. Taichi and the others failed to protect you when this world first called you." Daisuke held his friend's hands gently, his gaze never wavering. "I will not make that mistake. I will not let you down again."

"Daisuke, you haven't-"

"No, Ken." Daisuke squeezed his hands, interrupting the other. "I don't know what has been attacking you, tormenting you, these past few months. You needed me and I wasn't there." Daisuke smiled slightly. "Your family," Daisuke proclaimed, surprising the Chosen of Kindness. "We may not be related, but you are my brother. I won't let you face this threat alone. We will face it together."

"Me too." Ken blinked, realizing for the first time that Julieanna was pressed against his back, arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Motomiya-chan?" Julieanna smiled softly at him. The makeup she had been wearing, washed away by her tears, revealing the dark circles under her eyes and her slightly pale complexion from weeks of restless nights and lack of appetite. It was usual for her to go days without sleep. She had been in the modeling industry since she was small. She was used to the long hours and restless nights. But this was different. She was restless because Ken was hurt. She was hurt because he was slipping from her before she could even express how much she loved and cared for him. It was Ken, always Ken.

Ken's hands fell out of Daisuke's as he shifted his body so Julieanna could mold easily into his arms. There was an instant connection between the two that Daisuke could not express into words. Ken's eyes became as clear and bright as the day Ken's sons were born. The moment Julieanna was held gently in his arms, all the pain, all the sadness, all the grief, and loneliness washed away and was replaced with peace and confusion.

Daisuke smiled, knowing that his soul brother had found his soulmate, his other half, even if he wasn't completely aware of it.

"I should have told you sooner," she said, a small sad smile tugging at her lips. "It hurt seeing the man I love hurting so much." Ken stiffened immediately; he bit his lip, unsure of how to respond to her confession. "I didn't want to come in between you and Kimura-san. You two had seemed so happy together."

"Motomiya-chan I don't…" Ken was silenced by a finger on his lips.

"It's okay. I don't expect you to love me back." The pain was clearly visible in those brown orbs. "She had your heart and trust for a long time and had shattered it into tiny pieces." Ken shuddered slightly, his orbs filling up with tears. "I know it hurts and it may feel impossible to open your heart to another." She looked up at him, her eyes big and brown and filled with so much hope. "But I will find those pieces," she declared, "and put them back together one by one. "

That could take months, maybe even years. And even then Ken might not want to allow another in, but that was okay because Julieanna loved Ken. She would wait for him because she knew they were meant to be together for all eternity.

* * *

"Everyone's completely lost it!" V-mon's voice could be heard from down the hall as the others returned to the living quarters shortly after the conclusion of the meeting with Andiramon, Angewomon, and Holy Angemon.

Turmoil, confusion, and talks of war had been whispers above the wind ever since the gates closed once again. No one has seen the Holy Beasts since the reboot. It was rumored they were in hiding or maybe even dead. The Royal Knights had disbanded and went their separate ways since Yggdrasill and Alphamon disappeared from their world. At least, that's what Lord Knightmon said.

Those who were left of monarchy that the Holy Beasts failed to destroy, refused to step up and lead the entire Digital World. They had their own duties and citizens to care for. They did not want the added responsibly and headache that came with caring for every Digimon in the Digital World. And he could not really blame them. The Digimon had been divided ever since the Holy Beasts took over.

It had started like any other disagreement between two villages at first, some Digmon had been fighting over small amounts of food and other necessities, but would always be resolved within the hour. But then it accelerated over property and land. The tense disagreements would become heated arguments and then those arguments resulted in violence. Wormmon wasn't sure who threw the first punch or what the fight was about, but the damage had already been done. Those who were friends, both Human and Beast Digimon alike, were now enemies, and those who were enemies, were now considered threats that had to be eliminated.

This whole war was so pointless, yet so very sad.

Wormmon stared at the snow that silently fell, wishing Ken was here to help him figure something out. He would have been able to resolve all this tension and mistrust before it had even gotten his bad. The small virus sighed as he watched his brother toddled across the thick white snow with many of his workers as they attempt to fix the huge generator that would just not work.

After the reboot, they had all been surprised that the kingdom was now on a snowy wasteland. They were thankfully protected by the barrier powered by the Digimentals. But they couldn't keep using the Digimentas forever without feeling the side effects. Their partners were no doubt feeling the effects of it, without even realizing what was going on.

He could feel the fatigue traveling across his body, a result of using the Digimental of Kindness for so long. But that was not a concern in his eyes as his mind drifted to his partner. Something was terribly wrong with him. Ken had been feeling sad and in a great deal of pain for almost three months now.

Ken felt alone, defeated, and… hopeless. Why? He had the others, his new family, and Kimura. So why was he lost, so detached? Had something happened between him and the others? Or was it something else?

_Maybe he found his mother? _It would explain the conflicting emotions. But something within him wasn't settling well with that thought. Wormmon had tried sending his own energy of love and safety, but it seemed it wasn't working most of the time. Ken was getting worse, instead of better most days. And then there was the other day.

Wormmon stared at his claws with a frown. He had felt a sharp tingly feeling, almost as if something sharp was going across his wrists. He hadn't understood what was going on until he felt a sharp, crushing pain in the center of his chest, resulting in him reverting from his Adult form to his Child form. Ken's life force had been fading away.

The tears began to form as he turned away from the window and made his way to his study. Knowing that Ken had been on the verge of dying and he had not been there to help him was a crushing blow.

Wormmon entered the study and laid down on the sofa, lost in his thoughts. "Ken-chan…" Wormmon did not stop the tears as he stared at everything and nothing at all. "I'm sorry."

Sorry for not being there when he needed him the most.

Sorry for not being able to protect him again.

Sorry for not being able to help him with his pain and suffering.

Sorry for being such a horrible partner…

And then the sobs came as despair and the sound of waves, followed by a familiar lullaby filled his ears, luring him into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Ken stared at his wrists absently, almost as if seeing them for the first. Why _had_ he done it? That had what Motomiya had asked him as she waited patiently for him to gather his sluggish thoughts as Daisuke attempted to start a fire in the old fireplace of an abandoned cottage they had found. As Daisuke had pointed out, staying in the forest where they could be attacked would not be the smartest move.

The Lost Ones and their God were out there and so was Demon, who would not hesitate to seek his revenge for trapping him here. They would be as good as dead if they ran into one of them. And so until either the others found a way to open a portal or until Ken had enough energy to open one himself, they were stuck here. Both situations weren't exactly pleasant. It would have been a different story if they had their partners, but they didn't and it was all his fault, again.

_What have I done? _They had been in this dimension for about an hour now, enough time for Ken to think over what he had been doing the past three months. His mind had been sluggish, jumbled up even as he went through the waves of depression and inner torment. Millenniumon had been relentless in his verbal attacks. Ken, if he was being honest with himself, hadn't fully been aware of the motions of his actions.

Now that his mind was clear, for the first time in months, Ken found himself utterly horrified. Ken could have left his son fatherless, parentless, just as he had been when he was younger. What had he been thinking? Ken loved Kouji with all his being. Why did he think Kouji would be better off without him? Why did he think dying was his only answer?

And then it hit him like one of Miyako's slaps. There was only one person driving him to the point of insanity. One person who had wanted him to feel alone and lost and worthless until he had no choice but to either kill himself to save everyone he loved or to give in to the cold, mercilessly darkness. _Millenniumon__._ It was always him, wasn't it?

"Ken-kun?" Ken blinked the tears and fogginess out of his eyes, not realizing he had been gripping his wrists a bit too tightly, causing it to bleed slightly. Motomiya gently untangled his fingers from around his bleeding wrists and held them gently in her own. Ken looked into her eyes and saw nothing but unwavering love and trust.

_How? How could she love me? _Ken couldn't wrap his mind around it. They barely knew each other. Sure, Motomiya hung out with them enough times to know that she was Daisuke's half-sister and an overall nice person. Ken liked to think that someday they could even be friends, but they didn't know enough about each other to even get close to that same level of closeness he had with Daisuke, Hikari, Iori, Miyako, and Takeru, let along enough to have strong feelings for the other. Yet… _She loves me…_

Ken struggled to swallow that knowledge. But he couldn't deny the completeness and peace he felt whenever she held his hand or hugged him tightly. Just by being in Motomiya's presence seemed to wash away the doubts, fears, anxiety, and insecurities that were trapping him. It was so strange. Yet, it made something flutter in his chest, a warmth he could not identify.

"Why?" Motomiya repeated her question, softly, lovingly. How could someone so pure, so untainted be in love with him?

"I… I can't fight him anymore… he says thing… he…"

"Who?" She asked, softly, her big brown eyes still staring up at him. There was a sudden weight next to him, followed by a warm hand rubbing his back. Ken could feel Daisuke's concerned gaze burning into his soul. With the two of them there, showing so much love and support, and offering so much safety and protection, Ken could not stop the sobs. As he sobbed, Ken told them of the pain his former girlfriend had left in her wake. He told them of the numbness and depression that had quickly taken over as he talked about the last three months.

Hours must have gone by as he talked about his merciless tormentor. Ken could not sleep without Millenniumon being there to mock him, insult him, break him. And Ken couldn't be awake without Millenniumon being there with words ready to chip at the protective wall Ken had surrounded himself in. Millenniumon knew how to break him. He knew Ken's pain, Ken's fears, and was using it against him, breaking him until there was nothing left but loneliness, unimaginable pain and suffering, and endless darkness.

* * *

"That asshole," Daisuke cursed as he silently seethed in the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets. "He is lucky I can't see or touch him! If I could, there would be hell to pay!" Julieanna lifted her gaze to see her brother opening another cabinet. They had been here for a little over three hours now, without anyway of returning home.

This had not been the plan. Daisuke had been horrified to learn just how bad Ken's depression had gone and that his fiancee had known and hadn't cared if Ken died or not. She had been hoping for it. It had all crashed and burned in a matter of seconds.

After canceling off the wedding, Daisuke had been determined to talk to his dear friend that he saw as a brother and get him to open up like he used to do in the past. Once that was done, he would then force Ken to eat something. The single father had not eaten anything in weeks, maybe months. Daisuke was determined to fix that.

Shame that plan was spoiled by their predicament.

Julieanna returned her gaze to Ken, who was fast asleep on the sofa, his head resting gently on her lap. She ran her fingers through his, blueish-purplish locks. It was no surprise he had passed out shortly after he opened up to them. He was both mentally and physically exhausted from his daily torment.

_I wish there was something I could do to help you. _Knowing that the one she loved was being tormented day in and day out by an entity she could not see or hear was maddening.

"Ah-ha!" Julieanna glanced up again to see her brother with a cooking pot, a few bowls, several 2-liter bottles of water, canned food, and something that looked like half-eaten apples. Julieanna wasn't too surprised that there wasn't much in the small cottage. It was pretty much abandoned, yet still in perfect condition despite the vines and trees surrounding the cottage.

"Anything good?"

Daisuke glanced back at her and shrugged. "Just a few cans of beans and some strange apples. Though, I don't trust them either. Guess we are stuck with those chicken-flavored ramen packets you had on you." She had been the only one to have any sort of food on her. She had made it a habit to carry a few packages of ramen soup, protein bars, and a bottle of water in her purse whenever she went out. "Although, I would have preferred to make Ken something that wasn't from the dollar store."

She snorted softly. "So sorry. I didn't inherit father's cooking genes, unlike you and Jun." She was like her mother, sucking at anything that wasn't a surgery pastry. She had lived on fast food, dining, and dollar ramen for so long that she'd actually forgotten what actual food was.

"You know that's not what I meant," Daisuke said, pouting slightly at her, knowing that Daisuke and Jun were not on speaking terms with their father.

"I know. You want to make Ken-kun something more sensible to eat." She frowned slightly. He was thin, much too thin for her liking. "I don't trust this world very much, creeps me out actually, but we gotta make the best of the situation, right?"

Daisuke smiled and nodded as he prepared their meal. A peaceful silence took over the room allowing her to look around. The cottage reminded her of one of those Black Mountain Cottages she had looked at a while ago. The open spacious room consisted of a family room where the fireplace was located, a kitchen, and a dining room. On one of the far walls, were barn doors that led to the master bedroom and ladders that led to the upper floor to what she assumed was another bedroom.

The small cottage would have been a nice place to live if it weren't for the danger just outside their door. The sound of an explosion was heard in the distance. They were lucky Demon and Dagomon hadn't spotted them while passing through the abandoned town of Innsmouth, unnoticed. Although in their defense the two were on a full-on battle against each other with no side seemingly gaining the upper hand. It was almost as if Dagomon was holding back, allowing the other to vent.

Their presence couldn't go unnoticed forever, she realized. The Lost Ones were still out there, just waiting to attack them. _What to do? What to do?_

She glanced at Ken with a heavy heart. For once she wished she weren't so useless.

* * *

He held Kouji in his arms, frowning as he entered the apartment he shared with his girlfriend. Kouji had been a bit unwell for the past week. He wasn't going to lie; he had been a bit worried, but it was just a cold the doctor reassured. They just had to continue with the remedies they had been doing for the past few days. That did not put him at ease though.

Kouji just refused to sleep and his appetite was greatly lower than his brother's. His fever was what really concerned him. Ken had freaked out a bit when his temperature became 103°F the night before. He had stayed up all night and all day watching over his sick child. Now all he wanted was a nap.

Ken silently closed the door behind him. Tsubasa had not replied when he called into the silent apartment. Maybe she had put Kouichi down for a nap and had decided to take one herself. God, they both needed it. Kouji's cold had been stressing both of them out.

Kouji fussed in his arms. "It's okay," Ken whispered into the quiet room. "Papa's got you." He smiled as he made his way into the kitchen. It had been a good hour or two since Kouji's last meal, or at least it had been the last time Ken had attempted to feed his sick child. Kouji hadn't found food very appealing lately.

"Are you hungry?" He asked as he opened the fridge. A brow raised slightly. It was truly odd how one child could handle breast milk, while the other couldn't. It was a bit of a struggle to manage the feeding schedules for both boys, but it helped to separate their bottles on separate shelves. On the second shelf was Kouji's premixed formula that his parents had been so nice enough to get him each month, while the third was where the pumped breast milk was. All of those were gone.

_Odd. Kouichi must have really been hungry_, he thought as he grabbed Kouji's bottle. Once the bottle was warm enough for Kouji to drink, Ken went to the living room where Kouji's crib was and where he had been sleeping the last couple of days. They had to separate the boys' cribs so Kouichi didn't get sick too. It was really a stressful arrangement.

Kouji fussed and fussed in his arms, not wanting the bottle his father was trying to feed him. Ken silently coxed him, silently encouraging him to drink a little for a good half hour before the boy took finally took a few gulps of milk, but that was all he took. Satisfied for now, Ken tried to lower the baby to sleep with a lullaby his mother always sang to him when he was little.

_Tonight we won't count sheep_

_Count the ways that I love thee_

_Count all the things that ever made you smile_

_Just rest your eyes awhile_

_Tomorrow's a new day_

_It may feel so far away_

_I'll always be everywhere you are_

_So rest your peaceful heart_

_Go to sleep, my son_

_Be still my little one_

_You're one step closer to the man that you'll become_

_Another day is done_

As he sang to his son, Ken could not help but notice an evil presence lingering in the hall that led to his bedroom. As soon as Kouji fell asleep, he went to investigate. The apartment was silent as he walked through the hall, almost to the point of it being empty.

As he entered the bedroom, the first thing he noticed was the missing crib, along with some of Tsubasa's belongings. A cold sickening feeling filled his chest as he picked up the note that was left on the bed.

Tears formed as his heart stopped beating. "Did you really think she loved you, Insect?" Millenniumon hissed in his ear. The room grew cold and dark, almost as if it was melting away, shifting into a familiar beach.

"She has too… we've been together for so long… we have kids together!" If she hadn't loved him why did she stay with him for so long? Why did she willingly move in with him? She didn't have too. She could have said no. She could have told him that she wanted a break. He would have given her the space she wanted. She didn't.

"Then why did she leave the boy behind?" Ken didn't have an answer. The letter made no sense. He had seen the love in her eyes, in her body language. She had been so happy to be having his kids. They had even talked about marriage not long ago. So, why did she leave? "She simply pitied you. She never loved you, not completely, not ever."

Ken closed his eyes as he felt the wound that had been trying to heal grew a tad bit bigger. The more he thought about his relationship over the past few years, the more he began to realize something. "Why are you here? You got what you wanted! We're in the World of Darkness. What more could you possibly want from me?"

Red eyes glared down at him as Ken stood on the gray sand, staring up. The waves swayed gently, innocently as the two enemies pair off against each other, one on the sand, one over the calm sea. "You," he said. "Since the moment I saw you, I knew you would be a threat to me. You have this sickening ability to encourage others to forget their fears, their inner darkness when fighting against me. The fact that you can create and recreate those Digimentals is maddening!"

As the Evil Digimon seethed, memories of the past filled Ken's mind. Not every memory of that time returned, the Holy Beasts' spell was still in place, causing pain to shoot from his temples to the back of his head. However, those memories reminded him of why he had been fighting this monster for so long, why he continued to fight him alone, and the people he was desperate to protect.

"It's a shame you failed to kill me then." Unknown to Ken, the Crest of Kindness and the digivices and D-3s of his friends glowed and beeped in synchronization of his own beating heart. "As long as I stand, I will fight you until my last breath." Ken knew what he wanted. If he couldn't take over Ken's body then he would kill him so he could escape his prison. That was the reason he wanted to go to the World of Darkness. He wanted to escape his prison so he could continue what he started.

"You can try to break me, but I will always find my way back. You can try to destroy me, but my friends will always be there to help me before I am completely gone. And even if I am doomed to face you alone, I will not stop! I will continue to fight you until either I or you die."

He screamed. "We'll see about that!" But before Millenniumon could attack, Ken was whisked away from the dream world and back into reality.

"Ken-kun, wake up you're having a nightmare!"

Ken's eyes flew open, his heart racing, his eyes filling with tears, as he glanced around his surroundings, frantically. He did not recognize anything. Where was he?

"Ken-kun?" Ken felt her hands on his shoulders, rubbing it gently. The tension had slowly faded away, as he remembered. Right, they were within a cottage Daisuke had found.

"You alright, Ken." Daisuke was now in front of him. His brows were furrowed slightly as he held his hand, his eyes searching. Daisuke's heart beating in tune once again with his own was a great comfort.

"I think so," he said, a shaky hand running through his hair. Daisuke frowned.

"That dark aura was Millenniumon, wasn't it?"

"Dark aura?" It was Ken's turn to be concerned. "What dark aura?"

"There was this dark aura around you," Motomiya said, uncertain. "We tried to wake you, but you didn't seem to hear us. At least, not until your a—what did you call it?"

"Crest. Your crest started glowing. I'm not certain what happened between you and Millenniumon. But whatever you did angered him enough to take on this black shadowy form and left through the entrance."

"What?!" Ken shot to his feet. "We have to go after him! We have to stop him!" Ken soon regretted the sudden moment as a wave of dizziness and fatigue engulfed his being. If Daisuke hadn't caught him, he probably would have fallen.

"You aren't going anywhere," said Daisuke. "You are in no condition to fight some crazy lunatic."

Ken was frantic now. Only he really knew what Millenniumon was capable of. Only _he_ knew of the danger they were all in. This world would only make him more powerful. He had to stop him before it was too late. "But I have to! You don't understand! He's dangerous! You have no idea how dangerous he is!"

"I know I don't understand!" Silence filled the room after Daisuke's outburst. It wasn't unusual for him to blow up in anger like that. He and Miyako fought a lot and often; it had not ceased even as they got older. But it was unusual for him to yell at Ken like that. He rarely yelled at him, rarely screamed. And if he did get angry, he normally didn't let it get to him. Daisuke knew how to talk to his best friend without the use of violence and yelling. "I know I don't understand," Daisuke repeated after taking a moment to calm himself.

"I can never really understand the horror, the trauma, you must have faced all those years ago. I only know from what Gennai and Taichi and the other told us, and that may not even be enough to give me the full picture. The others barely fought Millennniumon. They barely lasted a minute before being imprisoned by that monster! And I'm sure Gennai didn't tell us everything. I know he was hiding a lot of stuff from us and we may never know what truly happened."

Daisuke looked at him sadly. "Only you and Akiyama-san really know what it's like to face that monster. And you can barely remember that time. I don't think I'll ever be able to understand the bond you guys shared, nor how much it must have hurt to have your friend ripped away from you by deceit and lies when you needed him the most."

But Daisuke had almost lost Ken. Ken had almost been ripped away from him by death. Ken tried to ignore the guilt that realization caused. "But that isn't going to stop me from helping you. We will stop that monster for good, but we can't be rash about this. Demon and Dagomon are still out there. Without our partners, we are sitting ducks. There's no way we can survive against two Digimon and whatever those fake Digimon are with the way we are now. We need to be smart about this."

Ken frowned and nodded, knowing that he was right. It would be wise to lie low and create some kind of plan. It was just the three of them right now. "You're right," he admitted softly, mentally beating himself up for how stupid he was being. "What was I thinking?"

"Ken," Daisuke said with a bit of firmness in his voice, "you have been fighting Millenniumon alone for so long that it's just second nature for you to go after him. You are only doing what you think will keep the rest of us safe." He smiled. "Tell you what, why don't we talk about this over some food. I'm sure with the three of us we can at least figure out what our next move will be."

Ken nodded and smiled a true smile for the first time in months. "I am a bit hungry."

"A bit?" Daisuke let the comment hang between them, letting Ken know that Daisuke did not believe him for one second. Ken hadn't really found food appealing in the last couple of months and he was sure it was going to bite him in the ass.

As the two made the short distance to the table—where three sets of bowls were set up—Motomiya screamed. The two Chosen froze. Had the Lost Ones found them? Had Millenniumon returned to continue what he had started?

Daisuke grabbed a worn looking bat that had been laying against one of the nearby walls and spun around in the direction of his half-sister. "What is it? What wrong?" Motomiya was frozen in place. Her mouth hung open slightly, but she was not able to form the words she wanted to say.

And then a white blur zoomed out from under the sofa and across the floor. The white blur went from the sofa to the table to the kitchen and back to the sofa. The way it moved was almost as if it was trying to find a different hiding spot, away from the screaming female that had caused its frantic escape.

Without warning Daisuke swung his bat at the threat, most likely believing it was one of the Lost Ones. "Daisuke…"

"Stay back, Ken! I got this." He swung and swung at the white blur. The white blur squeak in distress as it tried to avoid the attacks of its attacker. A cord struck within him as he realized what this blur was.

"Daisuke stop!" But it was too late; Daisuke managed to hit the small creature, causing it to skid across the floor and into the bedroom with a loud thud.

"Enough!" Fatherly instincts kicked in as Ken's snatched the weapon out of Daisuke's hands, while inadvertently pushing the other to the ground.

The two siblings looked at him in shock. "Ken, what—" With strength, Ken probably should not have in his current state, he all but threw the weapon across the room, causing it to snap in half.

"Ken!" With a glare that caused the two to shut their mouths, Ken marched like an overly protective father to the dark bedroom. Ken looked around the room for a brief moment before speaking in a soft, gentle tone that he always used with his own son.

"Where are you?" There was no response. "It's okay. I won't hurt you." There was a small squeak then. No, that wasn't right. It was a sob, a sob from a baby.

Ken got on his hands and knees and looked under the bed. There sobbing was a ball of white fur. The small baby looked at him with tearful, fearful eyes. A small bump was starting to form from where Daisuke had slammed the bat into him.

"It's okay, shhh." Ken made soothing noises to calm the frightened child. It took a bit of coxing to get the baby to leave his hiding spot, but once he was out, he would not leave the comfort of Ken's arms. The baby sobbed into his chest, still shaken from the encounter. "It's okay. It's okay." Ken gently ran his fingers through the soft, fluffy fur. "Did we scare you? I'm sorry."

Ken frowned, realizing the baby would not stop crying in distress and fear. Maybe some food would help. That must have been what caused the baby to leave his hiding spot in the first place and had only been frightened when Motomiya spotted him.

"Ken-kun?" Motomiya lingered just outside the door, looking uncertain if she was welcomed or not.

"Come," was all he said to her as he walked to the kitchen. Daisuke was there stirring the pot of soup. "Do you have enough for a fourth?" Daisuke looked at him and blinked at who was in his arms, still sobbing, still shaking.

"Is that a…?"

"Yes," he said stiffly, maybe a tad coldly. "You hit him pretty hard." His face fell. Daisuke had only been doing what he thought was right. He had put it upon himself to protect his sister and his best friend. How was he supposed to know that he had unknowingly attacked a baby Digimon? "Daisuke," Ken said more calmly, more tiredly, this time, "you didn't know."

"But I hurt him. A baby…" Guilt was thick in his voice, so thick that the small baby took notice.

"You were only trying to protect us. I can't fault you for that. Just… help me try to calm him down. I'm sure he only came out because of the food." The only Digimon that were supposed to be here were Dagomon, his servants, and Demon. It made him wonder if this Digimon was one of the five Digitamas that had gone missing shortly before the reboot.

At the mention of food, the baby looked at him with wide innocent eyes, his sobs forgotten for the moment. "Yuki?"

"Hungry, little guy?" Ken asked with a smile that was so soft and so fatherly kind. The little baby smiled up at him as a child would to its father. His heart clenched a bit, realizing that he had left Kouji at home, alone, and that Kouichi was gone and out of his reach. "Yuki! Yuki!"

Daisuke laughed. "Go to the table. I'll bring the food over." Ken did as he was told, taking a few ice cubes with him on the way. Ken placed the baby on the table in front of him, given that the baby only trusted him at the moment, and placed one of the ice cubes on his bump. The baby leaned into the cold ice cube happily.

"What is he?" Motomiya asked as she took a seat at the table. She had never truly seen a Digimon up close before.

"Yukimi Botamon," Ken replied. "If memory serves me right. He's an ice sub-species of Botamon. Yukimi Botamon prefers cold places, unlike normal Botamon. That's why you usually see them in snowy mountain ranges or places that are really cold."

"So, why is he here?"

"Yuki," said Yukimui Botamon. The two humans looked at the small Digimon, noticing sad eyes.

"Wormmon once told me that several Digitamas had gone missing before the reboot. They believed some of these distortions that Yggdrasill caused while attempted to recreate the Digital World may have sent some Digimon to other worlds, worlds other than our own."

"And this little guy was sent here." Daisuke placed a bowl on the table, followed by the pot of soup.

"That's my assumption, anyway."

"You may not be far off," Daisuke said as he scooped the soup into the four bowls. Daisuke placed a normal size one, and a slightly smaller one in front of him.

Yukimi Botamon looked at the steaming bowl of soup. He did not go near it, despite the small grumble from his small tummy. "What's wrong?" Daisuke looked at the small Digimon, puzzled. "Don't you like soup?"

They all noticed the way the Digimon was looking up at Ken—that of a child looking up to their parent for guidance and reassurance. It was very cute and soothing in a way. The small Digimon's presence seemed to fill some of the void his ex had left with her sudden departure three months ago with their first-born son. The ache returned, but with Motomiya and the small Digimon here, it was more manageable than before.

Ken smiled at the baby. "What's wrong, Yuki? Is it too hot?"

He was rewarded with a small squeak, followed by a very perplex Daisuke. "It shouldn't be that hot. It's been sitting on the stove for a bit."

"How much do you know about Yukimi Botamon, Daisuke?"

Daisuke leaned in his chair for a moment as he ate some of his soup. "Well, Taichi mentioned once that Agumon evolves from a Botamon and we saw a few at the Village of Beginnings. He looks like a Botamon," Daisuke said gesturing to Yukimi Botamon, "but only white."

"Yes, well Yukimi Botamon are slightly different," Ken said as he put five ice cubes in the small bowl, stirring it absently as it melted. "Botamon are like any other Digimon. They will eat anything and can live in pretty much any warm environment. But Yukimi Botamon are the ice variations of Botamon. They prefer colder environments. That's why they are cold to the touch." Daisuke nodded in understanding.

"Okay, I get that, but that doesn't explain why he doesn't want the soup. He seems pretty hungry."

"Yukimi Botamon are weak against heat." Ken tested the soup, which was now cold from the ice cubes. "How's this?" Yukimi Botamon shifted closer to the bowl, allowing Ken to scoop some of the broth and put it into the baby's open mouth. The baby bounced happily before slurping the soup on his own.

The adults all smiled as they enjoyed their meal. Ken wasn't sure how much time had come and gone, eating, talking quietly, and resting here and there. It was peaceful, something he had not felt in a long time.

* * *

"How long do you think he's been here?" Motomiya's voice echoed throughout the small cottage, breaking the silence that had fallen between the three of them. Ken gazed at the sleeping baby Digimon cradled in his arms. If Yukimi Botamon had really been one of the few who had disappeared from the Village of Beginnings, then it would have been almost eleven years. Eleven years alone. Eleven years scared and terrified and hungry…

Ken's heart clenched. The World of Darkness was not a scary or dangerous place as the others believe. It was very much like the Digital World. There were Digimon here, just not the Digimon they were used to. The Lost Ones were once Digimon. They were not evil, nor corrupted as Hikari made everyone to believe. They were stuck in those forms. Although, Ken couldn't figure out how he knew this. The only other Digimon, other than Demon and Dagomon, was a flock of Airdramon and… someone else he could not remember.

"I really don't want to think about it," Daisuke said as he typed something on his D-Terminal. They all ignored the sudden shaking of the cottage. Demon and Dagomon had not stopped their battle and Ken honestly felt guilty about it for some reason.

The spell that Millenniumon had mentioned in passing was still there, still blocking memories that Ken desperately wanted to remember. The Holy Beasts had been so desperate to hide something from him, but what? And why did it feel like their fighting was his fault?

"Damn." Amethyst orbs shifted from staring at the small baby to brown orbs.

"What Hikari-chan say?"

"She can't open a portal and Koushiro-kun is trying to open one, but no such luck." It was no surprise that Hikari couldn't open a portal. Hikari may have been to the World of Darkness before, but she did not have a connection to it, not like him. The World of Darkness had always felt like home, like he had been here multiple times long before he had met Wormmon. Ken had a deep connection to this place, but he couldn't figure out what. "Taichi and Yamato are trying very hard to prevent your brother from murdering someone."

The only memory he could make out clearly was of a room underneath the lighthouse. Something was in that room, something the Holy Beasts had not wanted him to remember. "I think we should go to the lighthouse."

"Lighthouse?" Daisuke asked incredulously. "Isn't that on the other side of the beach?"

"Where those Digimon are?" Motomiya added.

Ken nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but there's something there that can help us. I have these memories of me being there when I was younger."

"Do you know what's there?" Daisuke asked.

"Not really. The spell is blocking that part."

"Spell?" They asked.

Ken grimaced. "After I got hit by the Dark Seed, I lost certain memories of my time in the Digital World. Gennai said it was because of the Dark Seed. But that doesn't seem to be the case." Daisuke frowned. "The Holy Beasts don't want me to remember something. They placed the spell on me when I was too weak and vulnerable to protect myself."

"What? Why would they do that?"

Ken shook his head at his best friend. Ken had known all the Holy Beast once upon a time during the war. But once they stopped Millenniumon, something happened. Something he couldn't remember. "They were protecting their own asses," he said, a hint of anger in his voice for some reason. "They would do anything, even sacrifice their own warriors and subjects to protect themselves."

Daisuke silently seethed but said nothing more. "Is there a way to break this spell?" Motomiya asked, hating that the person she loved was hurting so much still.

"I don't know. There something underneath the lighthouse. I can't remember what, but I think it could help us with Millenniumon."

"Alright," Daisuke said after a very long moment. "Let's go to the lighthouse then."


	3. Chapter 3

The taste of regret was bitter and cold. The knowledge that their bond was not as strong as it had once been after all this time was hard to swallow. It had been difficult when Ken had been taken away by those children protection social workers and it hadn't helped that the gates had closed without warning, separating them from their partners. They all had been so young, so lost in their own pain, their own desires and wants, so unaware of their future and the consequences of their actions.

Ken had been so distant from them. The abuse he had been forced to endure right under their nose was nothing compared to the mental torment he must have been going through for all these years. It was only natural for him to grow so far out of their reach. They had tried to be there for him, tried to remind him that his friends would always be there for him to lend a helping hand, that there was no reason to be afraid.

But as the years went on, they went on with their lives. Their partners were in the Digital World. There was no danger. They were growing older, attending more classes as they prepare for their future careers, and even began dating. Hikari wasn't sure when she and Takeru had drifted away from the others. When had they stopped calling every day to see how everyone was doing? When had they stopped having those weekly meetings? When had the strong bonds they once had shatter? When had everything gone so wrong?

Hikari glanced at the small infant sleeping uneasily in his crib. Kouji had begun to wail as soon as Ken disappeared from their world. He just knew that his father's warm, loving presence was no longer there. It had been painful tending to the small child, knowing full well that it was not she whom he wanted.

She was lucky Miyako had been there to calm the wailing infant. She and Iori had always been there for Ken. They had never stopped trying to reach out to him. Their bond had only grown as hers and Takeru's bond with the former Kaiser crumbled little by little in front of their eyes, just like before.

They could have been there to comfort Ken after he had lost Akiyama. But Gennai had stopped them. He did something to them to make them forget, only for the memories to return once the identity of the Kaiser was revealed. Hikari and Takeru never once mentioned this to Daisuke, Iori, and Miyako. The shame and guilt had been too much for them to voice into words. If they pretended they had not known, then maybe it had never happened. But it had happened and she hated herself for it.

Ken should never have been the cruel Kaiser. They should have been there to help Ken deal with Millenniumon before he managed to corrupt him. They should have been there when Yggdrasill took them away, placing them at the mercy of his Knight. They had needed their help, and they had done nothing at all. They hadn't even noticed they were missing until they saw the Kaiser at the school festival. Ken, Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori could have died and they wouldn't even have known it until it was too late.

Mistakes. That was all she ever made. And… she was still making them. She had not been there to comfort Ken when his heart had been shattered. Her internship, schoolwork, and love life had been so much more important than the crumbling life of one of her good friends. She should have been there with Miyako and Iori as they tried to put the shattered pieces back together, tried to convince Daisuke to help them sooner. No, she had only taken action when she had found him on the kitchen floor, bleeding, almost lifeless.

"You're doing it again." Miyako leaned against the crib, silently watching the small infant, humming a small familiar tone when she thought he was about to arouse.

"Doing what?" They weren't as close as they should be. Miyako's heartbeat was no longer beating in sync with hers. It had not been for many years now.

"Feeling guilty." Hikari could not meet her eyes. The knowledge that they had allowed them to grow so far apart, that she had not noticed the signs sooner, that she had allowed her friend to get hurt, will always haunt her.

The Chosen of Light shook her head sadly. "It never stopped. How could I let this happen?"

"Hikari-chan, this wasn't your fault."

"How?" She whispered softly. "I wasn't there for him. I wasn't there for any of you."

"That's life Hikari." She looked at her friend than as Miyako took a seat on the second chair Ken kept in the room. "We all make mistakes. We all do things that we regret. But it is not your fault for Ken being driven to suicide. That is on Kimura."

Miyako's features were tight, almost to the point of being murderous. Even as kids, Miyako had always loved Ken, still did. But she was trying to let him go. Ken only saw her as a good friend. They had all thought Ken and Kimura would be happy together. They had both deeply loved each other and their kids. So why did she say she had never loved him in the first place? That made absolutely no sense.

Hikari had never read the letter. She didn't have too, Miyako told her word from word in between angry bursts of murderous rage. She had shattered Ken and took Kouichi with her. That had to be the worst thing one could do to another person.

"She shattered him," Miyako said so softly that it was uncharacteristic of her. "None of us saw it coming. I really thought she loved him. I never would have helped him pick out a wedding ring if I had known she would do this." That just made the situation far much worse.

"He was going to propose?" Miyako nodded, grimly.

"Didn't help that Daisuke was blinded by Li-san's lies. Maybe he could have snapped Ken out of his depression before it had even gotten this bad."

And now it was too late. Their friends were lost, trapped in the World of Darkness. "Maybe. I'm just glad Ken-kun's not alone in that world."

Miyako nodded. The World of Darkness was not easy to get into, despite what Koushiro thought. The World of Darkness was a world separate from the Digital World and their own, yet still connected to the two somehow. There was no true portal to enter that world, at least not one that she was aware of. She had only gone there because of her doubts at the time when those creatures called out to her. She had been teetering between the line between light and darkness, allowing her to slip through without her really noticing.

Ken was really the only one able to open a portal. He had done it once in their fight against Demon. Although, he had been unsure how he managed to do it in the first place. He just did it.

"Has Daisuke emailed back?" Her D-terminal had chimed within the last hour, but she really hadn't checked it for obvious reasons.

"I think so." She pulled out her D-Terminal and saw three new messages from Daisuke. She pulled up the first message. "They're safe for now. They found a cottage in the forest." Miyako visibly relaxed.

"Good, that's good. Hopefully, Daisuke could get Ken to take a nap. He really needs it." Hikari nodded and continued reading. Her eyes grew wide and scared as she read the paragraph-long rant from their leader. "No, it can't be." She knew she had seen the outline of him behind Ken, but she hadn't wanted it to be true.

"What?"

"Millenniumon… he's tormenting Ken day and night. He's been trying to get Ken to kill himself."

Miyako gasped and then half swore, half hissed. "That bast-How can we help fight an enemy that we can't even see?!"

Hikari had no answer. All she had was a sinking feeling that something wrong was going to happen. She continued reading, despite herself. Hikari read out loud what Daisuke was telling them about the Holy Beasts and the reason for Ken's lost memories. He talked about Millenniumon and how he was going to murder the bastard. And then he talked about a Digimon they found that was probably now scared of him.

"A Digimon?" Miyako looked at her D-Terminal as she opened an attachment. On it was Ken, fast asleep on the sofa with a Yukimi Botamon nestled in his arms. It too asleep.

"Aww, it's so cute."

Hikari smiled slightly. Ken looked almost peaceful as he slept. But why was there a baby Digimon in the World of Darkness?

* * *

The Digital World was supposed to be a safe, colorful place where babies, much like himself, could play and yell all day and all night. But this world was not the Digital World. It was dark and cold and so very _scarwy_.

Yukimi Botamon silently sulked as he remembered the days before his birth. He had been in the Village of Beginnings ready to re-enter the world. He couldn't remember his previous life, only the feeling of claws as something killed him without remorse. As he had been hatching, he had felt his Digitama falling, falling, and then landing in a bush of flowers. The world he had been born into was gray and cold.

The sound of battle could be heard over the winds, so he decided to avoid it as best as he could. He had spent a good week looking for food. He was a small, defenseless Digimon. He would need food if he wanted to get big and evolve! And then one day, as if someone had heard his little prayers, he came upon a pile of apples near one of the trees. Starving, he took a bite out of one of the apples, but his happiness could not be sated as a big, scary Digimon with guns approached him, looking unpleased he had taken his food. Yukimi Botamon ran, despite the other's calls for him to stop. He had taken shelter in a hollow tree and that was where he slept for days, cold, hungry, and terrified.

When he tried to venture out again, he had found a small town. The town had been empty. It had seemed that someone had lived there once upon a time, but no more. He had thought it would be a nice place to rest and search for food, but then hot, burning fire had come from somewhere near the beach, almost hitting him in the process, and instead destroyed the home he had been about to enter. He had never returned to the town, nor the beach as he returned to the forest. He never noticed the cloaked Digimon fighting another, nor a woman slightly watching his escape in the distance.

He had found the cottage purely by accident. He hadn't cared that vines were covering it and that it was deep within the scary forest. He just wanted to rest and eat. The cottage had looked like someone had once lived here at one point, but not for many years. There had been a kitchen, a fireplace with sofas in front of it, and a bedroom. Yukimi Botamon was too small to reach any of these things. Exhausted and hungry the baby Digimon slept deeply under the protection of the sofa.

He had never ventured outside the cottage ever again, much too afraid to do so. But every day since he had found the cottage, apples would be found in front of the sofa he slept under. Someone must have been taken pity on him. And then strange humans had found his home of eleven years.

He did not dare to confront them, much too afraid to do so. But as hours went by, he realized they were just as scared as he was. He glanced at them from under the sofa. One of them didn't look very good and was very distressed about something. Yukimi Botamon had listened carefully to the conversation, moving closer to the sobbing human, but did not reveal himself.

He had grown bored as the others talked quietly to each other as the sobbing man slept, unpeacefully. He had tried to sleep, but the smell of food had kept him awake. The mysterious figure that had been supplying him with food had not arrived the day before. He had been hoping they would give him some.

And then he felt something evil coming from the human. A shadow of something emerged from his body, trying to harm him, trying to kill him. Yukimi Botamon wanted to help the human, but he was just a baby. And then there was a warm light. A pink light engulfed the human, chasing the shadow away. He had felt drawn to the human's light. It felt warm, comforting, safe… something he wanted for so long.

"Woah." The humans had found a secret passageway, hidden behind a library. As they walked into the passageway that soon led into a tunnel in silence, he trembled, causing the human he had taken a liking to, to hold him closer to him. He did not like it here!

"It's okay, Yuki? Everything will be fine."

_If you say so, _he wanted to tell him, but the human could not understand him. "Yuki." Ken merely smiled softly at him. That made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Although, he couldn't understand why.

They continued walking through the strange tunnel in silence. Something was not right here. The tunnel seemed to be manmade, but who would make such a long tunnel. He soon found his answer as they came to the end of the tunnel. The tunnel opened up to a huge room with a flight of stairs going up into somewhere. Boxes littered the space and many of the items they saw as they passed by seemed to be toys and clothing, and personal effects of a small child. A dusty bed was seen in the far corner, along with a table and more boxes of books.

Ken looked into one of the boxes and picked up a small toy. It was a teddy bear, worn from play and dusty from sitting in a box for what must be years. "What is all this stuff?" The female adult asked.

"A storage room maybe," the male that had hit him with the bat said. "Looks like it could have been a child's room at one point."

Ken did not respond, which the other two noticed. "Ken, you okay?" The man placed a hand on the other's shoulder. Ken's hands had been shaking slightly.

"I…" His voice trailed off as he stared at the toy. His brows were furrowed, his eyes unfocused as if he was trying to remember something. "I think… I've been here before."

"You have?" The other two adults said.

Ken frowned in uncertainty as he rubbed his temple, almost as if he were in pain. "I… never mind. Let's keep going." The two humans looked at each other as Ken placed the toy back in the box, but Yukimi Botamon wasn't having it. He jumped out of Ken's arms and returned with the toy in his mouth. Ken paused, brow raised. "You want it?"

_Yes. _"Yuki!" He never had a toy before. The gentle smile returned as Ken shifted the toy so that Yukimi Botamon could snuggle against it. Once that was done, the three humans went up the stair. It wasn't that long of a walk, but the other male still complained about something called an elevator.

As they made it to the top, some kind of door stood in their way. The door was old, and it seemed it had not been used in quite some time. Ken tried to open the door, but it would not budge with him alone. It had taken the three of them to push the door open. The door made a loud squeaky noise as it opened up to a huge dining room. The walls were littered with paintings of seven different Digimon. One was of the Digimon alone, while others were with two, three, or all seven. In some of the paintings, there was a small boy that looked like a younger version of Ken.

In the middle of the room was a huge table filled to the brim with food. Eight chairs surrounded the huge table and sitting at the table were four ultimates. The four Digimon were staring at them in shock and something else—relief, sadness, hope, maybe?

"Ken?"

* * *

_How? How is this even possible? _The paintings were the first thing he saw. The evidence that confirmed that he had indeed been in this castle before, but he couldn't wrap his mind around it. He had to be at least between the ages of three and eight in these huge paintings. Ken knew he must have been very young, but wouldn't he remember being around seven Ultimate-level Digimon for almost five years? It looked like they had been so close.

Every time a memory, before the time he had met Wormmon, would try to resurface, a searing pain would travel from the back of his head to his temples, forcing the image to retreat once again out of his grasp. Whatever this spell was, it was all too clear that the Holy Beasts had not wanted him to remember something, something about these Digimon.

Ken turned his attention to the four Digimon sitting at the table. The door had caught their attention. Ken glanced at each Digimon, their names lost to him due to the spell, but they felt so familiar. He had known them personally, had been very close to them, but he couldn't remember.

"Ken? Is that really you?" It was the Digimon with the purple mask asking this time. The surprise in his voice was the same as the female Digimon. They were standing up now and making their way towards them. Daisuke and Motomiya were still standing behind him, looking between the obvious paintings of him and the Digimon in front of them.

"Do you know them, Ken-ken?"

Ken hesitated. He wanted to say no, wanted to say that he did not know them. He couldn't be the only Ken in the human world that just so happened to be involved with Digimon. Then again, he and Hikari had been the only ones to travel to the World of Darkness. He could say yes, but then that would be a lie too. He couldn't remember them, even if he did know them. "I don't know," he said very slowly, carefully. One wrong move could be their last.

Pain was in each and every one of their eyes. Ken did not recognize them and it hurt, all the way up to their cores. "Demon was right," the female Digimon said, shocked at the lack of recognition. "The Holy Beasts really did make you forget about us."

The three males behind her were now seething in anger. "Those backstabbing, assholes!" The one with the mask hissed, his arms waving in front of him as he seethed in anger. "We have done everything they asked! We left the Digital World, so they wouldn't kill all the Virus and Demon Digimon. We created the fucking crests for them. Hell, Lucemon even allowed himself to be taken as prisoner when they threatened to kill you after you got hit by the Dark Seed!" He yelled, gesturing to the three confused humans. "What more can they take form us?"

As the Digimon yelled and ranted, memories of the past came forth. They somehow bypassed the searing pain of the spell placed on him and filled his mind.

His birth parents had never gotten along, even after he was born. His parents fought and at times his father would lash out. It was almost always at his mother, but there would be times he would bruise up his boys.

Ken had been too young to really remember what they had been talking about. But it was obviously about his brother. Osamu had started to show his advanced intelligence when Ken had been around the age of three. It was around this time the two of them left him home for hours on end, attending commercials, and interviews, and competitions. And sometimes Ken would be left home alone for days, without food, without water, without the love that he craved.

Osamu tried his best to be there for him, someone so young should not be neglected to the point of being forgotten. But their father would always be there to yell at him and lock him in his bedroom as punishment. He would be in that room for hours and hours, crying, not realizing that no one was there to hear his cries. It had been on one of those days in where he had accidentally opened a portal to the World of Darkness.

He had been alone on that cold beach, frightened, scared until an angel with black and white wings found him and took him home with him. Lucemon. Ken remembered looking up to him, wishing his own father had been as nice and kind and loving as he was.

Memories of the other members of the Demon Lords came into light. Lilithmon had been the mother figure that had filled the void in his soul when his own mother had been too afraid to protect him. Beelzebumon had been the overly-protective older brother that played with him when Osamu could not. Demon, much to his surprise, had been like one of those grumpy uncles that hated everything, but really didn't. The two of them had loved being in the library together. Demon would always read him stories of the battles they had against the Royal Knights.

Much like Demon, Leviamon (who was currently Dagomon), Belphemon, and Barbamon all took up the role of an uncle. Leviamon had been the one to teach him how to swim and how to survive in the forest with the Lost Ones if he ever got lost. Belphemon had been his sleeping buddy, and Barbamon was the one to teach him how to read and write Digimoji, as well as teaching him how to use his abilities.

Where there was Light, there was Darkness. Where there was a Queen of the Digital World, there was also a King. Tears fell down his cheeks. The Holy Beasts had a Chosen of Light, yet they were ashamed to have one of Darkness.

Ken tried to blink the tears away as he stared at them, but he found it so hard to do so. "Lilithmon. Beelzebumon. Barbamon. Belphemon." His voice trembled with each name he spoke out as he matched each name with the faces he recalled from his memories. The four Digimon smiled, realizing that their presence must have bypassed the workings of the spell that was placed on him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to forget you."

"It's okay," Lilithmon soothed as she brushed the tears away. "Everything's going to be okay."

But it was not okay. A searing, blinding pain shot through his head. Ken barely noticed the makings of the seal appearing on this forehead as it traveled down the side of his face, around his neck, down his shoulders and wrapping around his torso like a viper. The markings were hot and painful. He could feel the strange magic trying to suck the life out of him, trying to kill him as punishment for remembering.

A gasped of pain left his lips as he crumbled. Yukimimon Botamon fell out of his arms, but was caught by Lilithmon before the others could react and tossed to Daisuke, which the baby flinched and cried at.

Ken could only feel the searing pain of death as it tightened and tightened its grasp on him. He was barely aware of the female Demon Lord catching him before his head hit the ground. He was barely aware of her lifting him into her arms. They were moving then, but he barely noticed. He withered in agony, gasping for air that the Holy Beasts' magic would not allow him to take in. They wanted him dead, despite everything he has done for them. Why? What did he do to deserve his torture?

"What's happening?" Daisuke sounded very far away as the Digimon ran down unfamiliar halls to somewhere underground.

"The seal!" Barbamon answered. "It's trying to kill him!"

* * *

They hadn't always lived in the World of Darkness. They had once lived in the Digital World, reigning over the Virus, Nightmare Soldier, and Demon Digimon, while Lady Bastemon ruled over the Beast Man and Data Digimon, Lord Phelesmon ruled over the Unknown, Free, and Warrior Digimon, Holy Angemon ruled over the Vaccine, Holy, and Angelic Digimon, and King and Queen Chessmon ruled over the Puppet, Cyborg, and Variable type Digimon within their Chessmon Empire.

There had been other smaller villages and kingdoms too, but for the most part, they were the main six kingdoms in the Digital World at the time. The arrangement between the six of them kept the balance, for the most part, none of them went over each other's authority as they worked together looking after the Digimon they cared for.

But not all was perfect. There were many times in were a Digimon tried to overpower them, tried to kill a Digimon from another kingdom. It was in their data to be naturally cruel, sometimes evil, and greedy for power. But that did not stop them from putting those Digimon in their place. There was no place for disobedience, for such vile behavior in time of peace. For a time all had been peaceful and right.

He couldn't quite figure out what the Dark Masters did to cause Homeostasis to summon children to their world. They had done nothing wrong, but following their orders to track down a disturbance they detected on the border of their kingdom. And then the Holy Beasts came into being.

They had wanted complete and utter genocide of all Virus Digimon as they tried to bend the entire Digital World under their rule. Many monarchies and small kingdoms had fallen, the leaders imprisoned or destroyed. The Holy Beasts would have stood no chance against all seven of them, and they knew it. The attack on their kind with the threat they would wipe out each and every one of them was all they needed to get them to submit to their will.

They had left the Digital World, sealed away in a world that had once been a part of the Digital World for the survival of their kind. The Holy Beasts had kept their promise to not harm the Virus Digimon for the most part. But the damage they caused was so much worse.

The power of Light and Darkness was a delicate balance. The two entities were brothers, sisters, yin and yang. One could not exist without the other and one side should never be more powerful than the other. But sometimes when the balance tips, the entities would take on a physical form. Normally this usually only happens once in every 500,000 years, but the entities were 499,500 years early in the form of Ken Ichijouji and Hikari Yagami.

There was no doubt that Ken was their King. It was why they were so protective of him ever since he accidentally made a portal due to his want to be loved by someone when his own family had been too blinded to do so. They adored the little boy since the moment they found him, loved him like he was their own. If they had known of the horror those supposed gods would put him through, then maybe they wouldn't have submitted to their will so easily. Lucemon had only allowed himself to be captured, his power restrained, because he wanted to protect the boy the Holy Beasts threatened once he'd been of no use to them. But that had been a lie, all of it had been a lie.

They used him, still was using him, and that was what hurt most of all. They had all been close to their King, but Beelzebumon and Demon had been particularly close to him. Ken and Beelzebumon were always doing something mischievous together, while Ken and Demon had that silent peace around them that no one understood. The knowledge of their deceit and the pain and suffering the child had been forced to endure was the reason why Demon was so furious.

When the barriers had been weakened by Black War Greymon, Demon had been the only one to escape the World of Darkness. Demon had wanted to find Lucemon, help him escape his prison. Ken was the key to finding him. He was the last to see Lucemon alive. But with the seal in place, Ken's memories were sealed away. Demon may have gotten a bit too angry, causing the child to see him as a possible threat when that was not the case.

Dagomon groaned as Demon seethed in anger. The two would spar every week in hopes it would help with Demon's anger that had yet to subside from his encounter with the Chosen. It wasn't exactly working all too well after fourteen years. But their sparring had come to a halt as they faced against Millenniumon. The Evil God was now gloating about everything he has done to their King. They could not really touch him due to his lack of physical form. They were just going to have to fix that now, weren't they?

As the other laughed, the Crowns of Envy and Wrath appeared on their forearms. A sinister, merciless laugh tore from their throats as they gazed at each other with wicked grins. It was time for some payback.

"What's so funny?" Oh, if only he knew.

"Tell me Millenniumon," Demon's voice was as cold as ice, "has anyone told you that it is unwise to harm the King."

* * *

Ken gasped and whimpered in her arms as they entered the ritual chamber that they had prepared long ago. A circular marble table, engraved with all seven sins, rested in the middle of the room with seven pillars, each the color of their respective crowns, surrounded the circle.

"It hurts." Ken's whimper broke her heart. She loved Ken like he was her own son. In the past, she had hated the fact that they had to let him go home to those humans at the end of each day. They had obviously been neglecting him, but she knew she had to let him go. They could not force him to stay, yet he always returned to them until that day.

"It's okay. We're going to fix this." Every Digimon had been aware that the King and Queen had been reborn. It was an unspoken rule that it was forbidden to harm them. Those who did either died a horrible death or were shunned by every single Digimon. The Holy Beasts knew this. If they outright harmed Ken, no Digimon would follow them. They would be destroyed in a heartbeat for hurting their King and Queen. They could not control the Digimon if they all unified to rebel against them.

So they hurt him secretly, out of the public eye. The seal had many purposes. Not only did it suppress memories, but it had also been a tool to temporarily control him. That was how Ken got the idea to be the Kaiser. But Millenniumon and Vamdemon had gotten in the way, unknowingly weakening the seal's power. This worked in their favor. The seal had really not hurt him until now.

The Holy Beasts had threatened them to stay away from him. Their presence would have an inverse effect on him, allowing him to remember despite the seal. But with his memories returned, the seal's fatal purpose was now active: to kill darkness. Without Darkness, Light would be the only one left in the world until Darkness was able to recover and reform in 500,000 years. But by then, the Holy Beasts would have the power to wipe out all who stood in their way. The Digital World, the Human World, all worlds would be thrown into chaos.

"I don't understand. Why would the Holy Beasts want to kill Ken?" The Chosen was frantic, but she was glad Barbamon was there to explain everything to him. Once Ken was on the table, she gave his hand a small squeeze of reassurance, before making her way around the table to light each white candle resting on each of the seven pillars.

Releasing the seven Crowns of Sin was the only way to destroy the Holy Beasts' seal. But there was a small problem: Lucemon was not here. She prayed he was still alive and able to hear her call. It did not take long to lit all seven candles, but with each candle she lit, she could feel the seal growing stronger and stronger. They did not have time to wait for Demon and Leviamon. They had to work fast. Ken was slipping.

"Lilithmon, we can't remove the seal without Lucemon," Beelzebumon said as he walked over to his pillar. Red eyes glanced at his brother as Ken withered in agony, sobbing softly as he tried to take in air. Barbamon walked over to his pillar, leaving the two shocked humans and the struggling Yukimi Botamon near the entrance. "And we don't know if this will even work!"

"Lucemon is alive. He will answer our call even if he is far away. He must have faith in him."

He frowned. "Yeah, but," he began to protect.

"We don't have time! I will not allow the Holy Beasts to win this time!" Lilithmon fisted her right hand and rested it against her open palm. Her form glowed a soft green as the Crown of Lust appeared on his right cheek. "When Light destroys the innocent and the pure. When what is good and just are tarnished, Darkness will come to restore what is lost. Let Lust shine so big and bright to restore thy broken heart."

"Material items are things of a long-forgotten past. Let Greed ground the soul and fix what has been shattered." Barbamon glowed purple as the Crown of Greed appeared his right hand.

"Empty and alone the soul can not compare, let Gluttony fill you up to live anew." Beelzebumon glowed yellow as the Crown of Gluttony appeared above his third eyes.

"The endless pain of rage seems endless and alluring, allow Sloth to sooth what has been hurt." Belphemon glowed a dark blue as the Crown of Sloth appeared on his left forearm. As they spoke a ring of energy appeared above them, changing colors with each crown they released into it.

"When all seems lost, sorrow blocking one's path, Envy will paint the way to a bridge of new possibilities." Demon and Leviamon rushed into the room from one of the many entrances that led outside the castle.

"When Light burns, when Light rages, only Wrath will be there to open a new path, to part the disguised darkness that traps and binds." As the two made their way to their pillars, Lilithmon noticed they were not alone. Bonded by Demon's dark magic, wrapped in chains of black was Millenniumon.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to join us." The self-proclaimed Evil God roared and cursed at them as he struggled to free himself from his binds. But it was to no avail. They were not going to let him go without facing the consequences.

"Let me go, vermins!"

"No," she said simply, her voice showing none of her inner fury. "You broke the law, Millenniumon. We will force you to understand why death always comes to those who harm the King." She wanted to say more, wanted to gloat and embrace his torment. But those thoughts fluttered away as a portal above Lucemon's pillar opened.

"When Light falls, Darkness will be there to embrace. When Darkness cries, Pride will lend a helping hand. When Light soars, crumbling all in its way. When Darkness falls to the depths of the alluring melody. Pride will be there to silence the Light, will be there to lift the Darkness and return to the Light of the everlasting."

Lilithmon lifted her eyes to the portal as a powerful energy so familiar, so alluring, so enchanting joined the circle of energy and dark magic. As the Crown of Pride joined the others, Lilithmon could not stop the tears of pure joy from escaping. "Lucemon."

The Child-level smiled as he stared back at his beloved. A second of longing passed between them before a blast headed straight for the Demon Lord. Lucemon dodged gracefully like the angel that he was, completely destroying Indaramon before he even had the chance to get his wits about him. There were only four now.

The Holy Beasts could be heard in the background, yelling at the Devas who were starting to realize that this was a battle they could not win. Lucemon glanced over his shoulder with a glare at the remaining Devas and their masters. An uncontained fury was in those blue eyes, one that promised death, death of the worst kind.

Lucemon was soon on the move, dodging let another round of attacks. Majiramon had thought yanking the chains still encased around his wrists and ankles would be a good idea. "Grand Cross!" The chains were gone and so was Majiramon. It looked like hours had gone by as they watched their leader battle the Deva on the ruins of Gennai's home. But in reality, it was only seconds, and those seconds felt like an eternity before the portal began to fade away.

"Lucemon!" Lucemon glanced back at his friends, his family.

"I'll be fine," he said. "Save him! Remove that damn seal!" And then he was gone. They all took a deep breath, feeling the energy of the seven sins together, but the fight was far from over. The circle grew bright as they swirled around and around above them and within seconds, following their unconscious desire, sucking Millenniumon's soul into it.

"NO!" he screamed, withering away as he was sucked in, unable to break free. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

Once he was completely sucked in, the light exploded down, engulfing Ken's weak body in a warm bright light that made it impossible to see past their fingers. Lilithmon shielded her eyes for a brief moment before closing them. The light soon expanded as it moved beyond the table and towards them. As they too were engulfed by the light, their forms become unseeable by the humans in the room.

"What's going on?!"

"Yuki! Yuki!" The humans' voices became distant, far and in between as her soul was freed from her body, allowing them to enter the void that Ken current was within.

_Hang on, we're coming._


	4. Chapter 4

The Holy Beasts were supped to be the guardians of the Digital World. Its protectors. They were supposed to be above such emotions as greed, lust, envy, and pride. They were supposed to be the role models for the Digimon they resided over as they governed for a new era of peace.

Protectors his ass. Those four, since the moment they came into existence, had been nothing but trouble! They caused a war, division among the different attributes. They caused the Virus Digimon to be isolated, hated by the other five. They tried to cause widespread genocide. They tore down kingdoms that had once thrived and prospered for centuries.

And they called him and the others monsters? They had the nerve to use innocent children for their own agenda? To use their King, threaten him, attempt to kill him just because of who he was? How _dare _they?!

"Grand Cross!" The last of the Devas fell, not one survived as their data was destroyed, never to be reborn. Cold blue eyes stared down at the four Holy Beasts. For seventeen years he had been trapped within his underground prison, being tortured to the point of exhaustion, having his powers slowly, painfully drained from him. He could now no longer stay in his Perfect form, but that was okay. He didn't need that form to seek his revenge. For his King, for his son, he would give his own life if it meant somehow sparing his.

Zhuqiaomon was the first to strike. Swirls of flames surround his form, but Lucemon was completely unaffected. With a flap of his eight white wings and with an elegant glow around him, the flames dispersed and vanished as if it had never been there. The arrogant Holy Beast stood frozen in place in the air, shock and stunned.

"Impossible." They truly had no idea who they were messing with.

"Did you really think, just because I'm no longer in my Perfect form, that I am not capable of protecting myself against you four?" There was no emotion in his voice as he spoke. The air around him grew cold as he allowed the rage to take over. He had only been holding back out of fear for the other Demon Lords and for Ken. With the seal in place, they could have killed him any time they wanted, no matter what world he was in.

He no longer had to worry. He had sensed the others gathering the Crowns of Sins for the ritual. The only way to fight a spell made of corrupted light was with the purest of darkness.

Without his crown, there was no way to keep the darkness within him in check. He could easily succumb to the darkness if he was not careful. It was so easy to fall into darkness enchanting allure, but it was very hard to return to the light.

As the Holy Beasts attacked, each one soon falling one by one by his might, he realized that it was okay. If he did fall one day, if he did lose his way, his sanity, he knew it would be okay. He had faith in his friends. He knew his beloved would come for him and hold him close. He knew his friends, his family would be there with smiles and a pat on the back. And he knew his son would be there to dive into the darkness and bring him back to the light.

* * *

"Where are we?" They were in a very white room, that was as long as a hallway and as endless as the sea. Bubbles floated innocently around them, several feet above the ground and just about eye level.

Lilithmon gazed at Beelzebumon, uncertainly. "I'm not sure." She glanced at the bubbles suspiciously. Was this an effect of removing the seal or something else? "We should keep moving."

The boys nodded as they followed her down the endless space of white. As they walked further into the endless room, more and more bubbles entered from somewhere in front of them.

One of the bubbles had been about arms' length when they heard the sound of waves swaying violently. The ocean in the World of Darkness was always calm. The only time it had been that violent was when Ken first appeared in that world, distraught and terrified.

Being darkness in human form, Ken's emotions were directly tied to this world. His hopes, and dreams, his fears, and despairs affected this world and sometimes become reality.

Lilithmon looked into the bubble and blinked at what she saw, not only within the bubble but within her own mind. A three-year-old child was sitting on the sandy beach as he cried over his knees. _A memory?_

_"I don't like it here,"_ the three-year-old sobbed softly. _"Why am I always alone?" _They had all felt the pull that day; the pull of their King calling. All Virus Digimon would have felt it, no matter the distance.

_"Why are you crying, little one?" _Lucemon asked as he bent in front of the child. He had been on the beach when he felt the call. He had been the only one to comfort the child on the cold beach.

_"I'm lost." _The memory soon vanished, returning them to the room filled with bubbles, as the bubble floated away.

"These must be Ken's memories," Barbamon speculated, his hand running through his long white beard. At least she wasn't the only one feeling a bit disorientated from the experience. "Without the seal, his memories are returning."

Beelzebumon frowned as he looked at the bubbles that were filling up the room. "If that's the case, then where's he?"

Barbamon pointed ahead where the bubbles were coming from. "Follow the bubbles." They did so in silence, doing their best not to intrude on the memories that passed by them. But they were a bit curious as they glanced at a few precious memories that occurred since they last saw him and a few they were all too familiar with.

_"__Niisan__ hates me."_ Ken was in Beelzebumon's room with the other sitting next to him, looking worried as Ken sulked on the bed.

_"No, he doesn't,"_ Beelzebumon from the past said. _"He's just stressed out from the whole genius thing. I'm sure he didn't mean to snap at you. Everything will be fine, you'll see."_ He smiled wickedly, unnoticed to the child. _"But if it makes you feel better,"_ Beelzebumon lifted up his fists like a boxer, pretending to punch something in front of him, _"I'll give him the one, two."_

The seven-year-old laughed, a smile returning to his face. _"Big Brother, __Beelze__!"_

The bubble floated away as another took its place, but this one made them frown. This wasn't one of Ken's memories. Due to his current state at the time, he should not even be aware of the conversation around him. Someone had planted this memory, but who and why?

_"I don't understand. Why is Gennai doing this?" _The Chosen of Courage was banging on the locked door.

_"I don't know." _Ryo Akiyama was sitting on a chair next to Ken's bed. Ken's breathing was shallow and slow as his body tried to fight against the Dark Seed, leaving the boy weak and ill, barely conscious. _"But whatever this thing is, is dangerous enough to scare the Holy Beasts into betraying us." _

Taichi turned to his friend, concerned. _"How dangerous are we talking about?"_

_"Enough for Gennai to separate us from our Digimon and lock us up when we refused to leave Ken here alone."_

Taichi stood still, stiffening with every second that passed, as he followed Ryo's line of thinking. _"No, Gennai wouldn't… He's our friend. Why would he want to hurt Ken-__kun__? He's done nothing, but help us." _Ken was the same age as his sister. He would be damned if he allowed anything to happen to the young boy.

_"How well do you know him, Yagami?" _Ryo asked with a frown. _"Gennai could have easily questioned their commands to separate us from our Digimon and __digivices__. He still did it without a question. I don't know about you, but I don't trust him, nor the Holy Beasts. I don't know what they're planning to do to Ken, but I will protect him with my last breath. They will have to get through me first."_

Taichi collapsed to the ground, his back resting against the door. _"What do we do?"_

Ken stirred as he shifted from consciousness and unconsciousness again. Ryo removed the damp cloth, re-dipping it into warm water before returning it to Ken's forehead. _"I noticed one of the guards was more than just a little upset with the way we were being treated. I think I can convince him to help us find our partners and escape."_

Taichi smiled. _"I think I saw a TV not far from here. We can use that to escape."_ Ryo nodded as the plan came together, but he was still uneasy about something. _"What's wrong?"_

_"Yagami, I need you to promise me something."_

_"Anything."_

Ryo paused to look at Ken as he opened his eyes slightly, but closed them before he could regain consciousness. _"If we get caught, I'm going to stay behind. No matter what happens, I need you to get Ken out of here."_

_"Akiyama, I'm not going to leave you behind!"_

_"Yagami, the Holy Beasts can not get Ken! I need you to get Ken to safety as I fight them off. If something happens to me, you must promise me that you will protect him."_

_"Ryo…"_

_"Promise me!"_

He sighed. Ken was a fellow Chosen, young and innocent like his sister. He would protect him even if he had to leave his partner and best friend behind. _"I promise." _

The memory left a bitter taste in their mouths, knowing that the boys had failed to get Ken to safety before Gennai placed the Holy Beasts seal on him, forcing them and Lucemon to watch. Of course, Gennai had made sure the boys never spoke of this event. Rather, he threatened them or wiped their memories as well was unclear.

Lilithmon took an uneasy breath as she forced herself to walk on. They were now reaching memories that made their eyes narrow and their stomachs coil in rage, disgust, and sorrow. The memories of Ken's neglect, his abuse, his three near-death experiences. And then there was the female that shattered him. _Death to the female,_ Lilithmon silently seethed, but made sure not to show her inner fury as she and the others found an open door that led to one of the deserts of Server.

The sun was beating down on them, far hotter than it probably should be. Blue eyes glanced around as she tried to search for the young man and the monster they were searching for. It didn't take long to find them. Millenniumon was huge in comparison to the small human and the rest of the environment.

And the explosion of sand and energy blasts over an abandoned sand village was very hard not to miss.

"That way!" Beelzebumon flew into the air when he had transformed into blast mode. She was unsure how he was able to get into that form without their King's aid, but she didn't question it as they all flew to their destination.

* * *

Ken was running.

He wasn't sure where he was going, nor how he would get there. He didn't care. Anywhere was better than being in the same space with a very angry, very dangerous Millenniumon that wanted nothing more than to end him, permanently.

Ryo, Taichi, XV-mon, War Greymon, and Stingmon had just been here. They had been running from Gennai and several Digimon for some reason. The two eleven years olds had been screaming about a TV set on the other side of the sandy village. They just had to keep running.

But then something strange happened. A strange golden seal had appeared in the sky, causing Gennai and the other Digimon to just disappear. This had to be a dream. There was no way people just disappear unless the one who did it was Millenniumon. Millenniumon had been screaming and roaring at them as they stood there in shook. He should be dead. There was no way he survived their last attack. He disintegrated in front of their eyes.

The Digimon had wasted no time in evolving, ready to finish things off once and for all. As Agumon evolved, he and Ryo were about to fuse their Digimon into Paildramon to fight Millenniumon once more when seven strange colorful chains with odd markings emerge from the sandy ground, destroying the strange golden seal inscribed with Digimoji—that looked very familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it—that had been hovering in the sky. The shattering of the seal had caused a bright light. When the light vanished, and when he could see again, his friends and their Digimon were gone.

Ken hid behind one of the farthest houses he could find. He was alone with the Digimon that could freeze time around him and tear his body apart piece by piece. He shuddered at the imagery as he crouched down low, hoping the Evil God would not find him as he blasted one house after another.

"Ichijouji!" A house to his far-right was destroyed by beams of energy.

He was so dead.

"When I find you, I'm going to kill you! Once I do, I will take over your body, destroy those Demon Lords and all you love, and then those bloody Holy Beasts are next!"

Ken trembled as he covered his mouth to keep himself from making a sound that could alert Millenniumon to his hiding spot. He was getting closer.

The house next to him was destroyed amidst his panic and fear. He closed his eyes as Millenniumon charged up his cannons once again. His house was next.

_Oh, god. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead._

"Mugen…"

"Chaos Flare!"

"Flame Inferno!"

"Hell's Flame!"

Ken's eyes snapped open just in time to see streams of hot burning flames and a wave of dark energy colliding into Millenniumon. The Digimon screamed as he was thrown back several feet backward. Beelzebumon, Demon, and Belphemon: Rage Mode flew overhead in a vengeful fury towards the still screaming Millenniumon.

Ken froze for a moment as he puzzled over how his Digimon family when he was a child managed to get here. He would have sworn they were still trapped within the World of Darkness. As he puzzled over this, Barbamon, Leviamon, and Lilithmon landed in front of him, protectively.

"Are you alright?" She asked, concerned as any mother would.

"I think so," he said, still a bit shaken. "How did you get out of the World of Darkness? I thought the Holy Beasts spell kept you trapped there."

"Ken," Barbamon said, "we never left. This is all in your head."

"What?"

"We had to force him back into your body. But as long as he is able to physically and mentally attack you, he can escape again. We must not let that happen."

"How?" How does one stop a monster that even the Holy Beasts' feared? How does one stop a monster that can destroy worlds, redo history, and can tear it's victims apart from the inside without anyone knowing?

"You must strip Millenniumon of his powers. The only way to do this is to bind him to you."

"Bind?" Ken could not voice the question he really wanted to ask. Why him? Hadn't he suffered enough? He may have been the one to save Ryo from being hit by the Dark Seed, knowing full well that was what Millenniumon wanted. But he never thought it would result in him being used by said Digimon and by the Gods that were supposed to protect this world.

Why? Why did he always have to be the one to be broken down, to suffer again and again? Hadn't he suffered enough? He did not want to be bounded to an Evil Digimon. He didn't want to be in pain anymore.

Funny. No one ever cared about what he wanted. Ken looked at his wrists. There were no bandages for, he realized, he was physically the age he would have been when he first entered the Digital World.

Why him? Why was he still fighting?

Ken closed his eyes. He knew why. Millenniumon wanted to exist. He wanted Ryo. If he had allowed Ryo to get hit instead of him, there would be no Digital World presently. There would be no Chosen Children. Millenniumon could make sure Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori never got their D-3s, nor their Digimon. He could make sure Taichi and the others never defeated Vamdemon. He could make sure they never got their digivices or make sure they were never born.

A sickening thought, he realized as he thought about his old friend. Ryo had always had a bit of a temper and was a tad violent at times. It was nothing major, but sometimes the Digimon would overwork themselves just to please the Legendary Tamer just to avoid said temper. It was something Ken had always tried to remedy when he noticed the Digimon were working themselves to exhaustion again, while Ryo did nothing to stop them, unaware of what was happening right under his nose.

Ryo had always felt guilty afterward. The distant attitude and temper was something he had picked up from his father, who used to work in the Russian military before settling down in Japan with his wife. He really did try to fix this over the years. But the temper, the distance, the violence was what Millenniumon wanted. With Ryo under his control, he could tear down the barriers and no Digimon would be dumb enough to fight him. Ryo would kill them before they could even blink. There would be no one to stop the Tamer and the Evil God from remaking the Digital World in their image.

He couldn't allow that to happen. He fought to protect his friend. He fought to protect all that he loved. Being used over and over again was just a side effect for not only to protect his dear friend, but everyone in both worlds. He suffered for their sake, even when no one cared how much he was hurting for being forced to be the vessel of a monster and the burden that was crushing his soul for so many years.

"Ken." He saw Lilithmon placing her hands over his. "No one deserves to suffer as much as you have. No asked you if you wanted to be the human vessel of such a monster. No one asked you if you wanted to be dragged into a war that you should not have been in at such a young age. You proved everyone wrong. You are still the kind, sweet boy that we love, despite how many times someone has tried to break you." She smiled at him. "You are strong. Stronger than you may know."

He frowned. No, he wasn't. He allowed others to take advantage of him, to use him until there was nothing left for him to give. "You doubt because you have been hurt so many times." She knew what had been on his mind. She always did. "There had been many who had fallen victim to Millenniumon's Dark Seed, and all had perished. You are the only one to be able to hold him back, to stand up against him and his wicked ways. You are the only one who can stop him."

Ken was surprised. He had not known about others that had been hit by the Dark Seed. Then again, there had been more than one of those things when they defeated him the first time.

Ken sighed. He knew what he had to do, but he really didn't want to do it. "How do we bind him then?"

She smiled. "You already have the needs to do it." She lifted up his sleeves, turning it so that his palm was facing the sky, revealing seven symbols tattooed on his skin, which Ken recognized as the seven sigils of the Seven Olympian Spirits. There were three tattoos on each side. On the left, from the bottom up, was the green seal of Phul, the yellow seal of Hagith, and the purple seal of Aratron. On his right was the dark blue seal of Phaleg, the orange seal of Bethor, and the light blue seal of Ophiel. On his left palm was his birthmark: a small black crescent moon; and on his right palm was the red seal of Och.

Ken gazed at them for half a second, his eyes widening ever so slightly as he remembered a time when he was very young. _Wait aren't those…?_

Lilithmon gently traced the green symbol with a finger. "The Crown of Lust." She then moved up to the next symbol. "The Crown of Gluttony. The Crown of Greed." She then moved to his other arm, tracing it lightly. "The Crown of Sloth. The Crown of Wrath. The Crown of Envy." She then gently traced the seal of Och. "The Crown of Pride."

"Since the moment we saw you, we knew we had to protect you. We had all made an oath to protect you with our lives, but I'm afraid we had not done a very good job. I don't know why the Holy Beasts are hell-bent on killing Darkness, knowing full well Light can not survive in this world alone." She had such a sad smile, but there was a flicker in her eyes. One that showed determination and unwavering loyalty. "We may not be able to be with you physically, but we will in spirit, just as we are now. We will fight together by your side, always."

Ken looked at each and every one of them. Trust was in each and every one of their eyes. Ken swallowed nervously. Memories were still returning to him now that the Holy Beasts' seal was broken. Many of them filled him with anger, which was only amplified by the Crown of Wrath. Ken closed his eyes and took several calming breaths.

No more. He will not allow someone else to use him, to control him anymore. He will not allow himself to be someone's puppet. This ends now.

When Ken opened his eyes once again, he was no longer the scared eight-year-old boy of the past, but the wise man he had grown into from the pain, suffering, and love he had gained and endured throughout his life. Ken stood up and noticed that his clothes had changed. He was wearing a white long-sleeved closed neck shirt, white pants, and knee-high boots. The shirt had gold trimming on the sleeves and along the bottom hem of the shirt.

Over the shirt was an armor chest plate, but it was barely visible under the white knee-length tabard and cloak he wore over it. The short white coat was sleeveless. It had a pleated waterfall hem along the front righthand side and a split from the rear hem towards the waist. Gold trimmings were also along the hem of the coat. On the right breast was the pattern of a stylized ornate rose, while the left had the pattern that looked like the triple moon. A double brown leather belt was wrapped around his waist; and upon closer inspection, he realized that there were two loops. One of the loops held a whip, but there was another loop big enough to hold a sword of some kind.

A corset style golden arm guards were tied over his wrists and stitched with leather and silver trims and had leather strappings around them to keep them in place. On both of his hands, he wore white gloves with silver and gold paneling on them. On his left hand, the Crest of Kindness was engraved on the silver paneling of the glove. On his right gloved hand, the panel was engraved with the Crest of Forgiveness. On his cloak, the seven crowns of sin were engraved, positioned in a large circle. In the middle of the seven crowns was the black outline of the triple moon and within the full moon was the ornate rose.

The Crest of Darkness truly was a beautiful combination of Kindness and Forgiveness. Ken smiled, softly as he felt the energy of the crowns and his true crest coursing throughout his body. He was not afraid, not anymore. He embraced the darkness, just as he had when he was just a child before the Holy Beasts interfered.

"I'm done being afraid." Ken turned, ready to face Millenniumon for good this time. "Let's teach him a lesson, shall we?"

"Anything for you, My King."

* * *

No! He refused to believe this human, this Tamer, was the reincarnation of Darkness. He refused to believe that! There was only one god of darkness and that was him! Only Ryo had the same level of darkness as him, but his pitiful partner chose that weak Monodramon over him. He chose everyone over him! Ahhh! Why? Why? Why?

The Evil God glared down at the Demon Lords as they attacked once more. Chains coiled around his body, draining the energy out of him. He struggled against his binds, managing to break free just in time to avoid Demon's attack. But he wasn't quick enough to avoid Beelzebumon's.

"Chaos Flare!" An unimaginable pain coursed throughout his body as the blast tore through his right side. Pieces of his canons were torn off his back as he crashed to the ground, data slowly floating away. He laid there in agony as the three hovered in the air, preparing to finish him off, but it never came.

The three hovered in the air, glaring down at him. He glared at them back, but they did not move. And then he felt it: darkness, far more purer, far more dangerous than his own.

He glanced up to see the human and three more Demon Lords walking towards him. There was something different about him now. He was far more calmer, far more confident and wiser, far more deadly. He was not afraid, not anymore.

Fuck.

* * *

Ken's gaze rested firmly on the once powerful Digimon that had been the source of so much grief and pain. Ken wanted to hate him, wanted to despise him. But he couldn't. Life was too short to hold grudges and the potent emotions of anger and hatred.

As Ken got closer and closer to the Digimon, Ken finally came to terms with what he was about to do and he almost felt sorry for him.

Millenniumon seethed at him, wanting to tear him limb from limb, but knew he would not get very far with the King's protectors nearby. "You really think you're all that now, now that you remember your the _king_," he sneered. "Let me tell you something: you are not my King! My King is gone! I will never respect you!"

The Demon Lords' glared heatedly at the Evil God at his disrespectful tone. They were ready to approach him, ready to finish him off, but Ken stopped them with a hand. They stood still, weapons still raised.

"I don't expect you to like me, nor respect me as your king. I don't think we will ever get along, nor be anything close to friends. You hurt a lot of Digimon, including myself and Ryo-san."

Millenniumon's growled. "You insulin brat! How dare you-" Dark wispy chains of darkness created by Ken's own will wrapped around Millenniumon's mouth and the rest of his body, silencing him, binding him in place.

"You have done enough talking." Ken's voice never once raised above that calm, neutral tone. "You will listen to me. Don't forget that I am the King. This is my mind." He glared at him with so much hatred that he was sure the others would come to his defense, but they remained still, knowing Ken had everything under control.

"I should hate you for hurting my friends, for hurting me." Ken was staring into his eye, his whip hanging loosely at his side. "I should hate you for everything you made me do, for everything you have done." He struggled against the chains. "But I don't. I forgive you." This caused him to cease his failed attempt to escape. He stared at the human in shock. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Demon Lords were shocked as well.

"You are a Chosen Digimon, rather that means anything to you or not is beside the point," he said matter-a-factly. "We all walk the thin lines between light and darkness. You chose darkness when you joined the Dark Masters, searching for a partner that never came. You fused with Chimairamon, hoping Ryo will hear your cries. You attacked the other Chosen out of jealousy and loneliness. And you attacked the Digital World and everyone in it in anger and hurt when Ryo rejected you."

"I never want to know what it's like to have your partner reject you from the start. I pity you, Millenniumon, but you placed this on yourself. By allowing hatred to consume you, you pushed away the only person that could have loved you, that could have cured the hole in your chest. Ryo could have saved you and now it's too late."

The environment around them shifted and changed. With a single thought, the two of them were transported to the deep residence of his soul. It was a place of loneliness, despair, and bad memories.

Ken had wasted so much time here. The control room of his former base had never felt like home. It was cold, suffocating… a prison. And now it was Millenniumon's.

Computer monitors littered the walls. Memories of the past flashed on those screens. Memories he could not remember until his family destroyed the seal. Ken barely glanced at the memories. There was time for that later.

In the middle of the darkroom, where his throne used to be, was a huge cage. The cage was inscribed with Digimoji. It was the same Digimoji he had learned from Barbamon, the same one he had used to program the Evil Rings and Spirals. As long as he was in this cage, Millenniumon would not be able to harm anyone, not even him. He was powerless.

Ken rested his hand on the cold metal door with Millenniumon trapped within. The chains around him disappeared with the exception of a single chain wrapped around his ankle. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Millenniumon tried to rush towards him, but the chain around his ankle prevented him, yacking him back just as he closed the metal door with a heavy heart.

"You could have had everything, Millenniumon. You didn't have to kill. You didn't have to kidnap or try to take over the Digital World. We could have helped each other." Ken sounded very, very sad and tired. He sounded far older than he really was. "I could have been your friend." Ken shook his head sadly as he placed an additional seal on the door, completely sealing Millenniumon's abilities. The door that led out of the control room opened, a bright light shined from the other side. "I don't hate you, nor do I wish ill will against you. But for your crimes, you will stay here until I decide otherwise." Ken turned his back to him and took a step towards the open door, not noticing Millenniumon's head drop. "You should have never listened to Dark Gennai."

For the first time since Ken had known the cruel, Evil God, Milleniumon wept and Ken entered the light.

* * *

Ken slowly opened his eyes. The room was dark. No sun was shining through the blinds that were down, meaning it was well into the night. The only light in the room was the crack from the door that had been left ajar. The lack of weight next to him, only confirmed that Tsubasa was indeed gone. Gone with the man she truly loved and his firstborn child.

Ken bit his lip. He hated this room since that day. He had been avoiding sleeping in this room since she left, only coming into it to grab his clothes for the morning. Being in this room brought back the pain, but it was less now, more manageable. It was almost as if several pieces of his shattered heart had been put back together.

After a moment of sorting through his thoughts, Ken glanced around the room, wondering how long he had been out. The room no longer had that lonely, suffocating, oppressive feeling it once held. It was more peaceful, calming. Although, that could be because of the vanilla-scented incests coming from somewhere.

Ken slowly sat up, his body protesting every inch of the way, so he could get a full view of his bedroom. There was just enough light to see the items displaced in front of him.

Next to the queen-sized bed were two wooden nightstands. Each nightstand had a lamp and a photograph. Both photographs were of him when he was a kid. The first was of him and the others and the other was of him and Leafmon. The closet, from what he could tell only had his clothes. Frowning, he glanced at his dresser. All of Tsubasa's personal effects were gone: perfumes, photographs, jewelry, everything. Every last one. Everything in the room had either been moved or replaced with something that was his.

The tears began to form as he saw a box labeled TRASH in bold letters in the corner of the room. _Daisuke._

"Oh good, you're awake." Ken blinked, realizing Motomiya was sitting in a rather uncomfortable looking chair next to his bed. How long had she been sleeping in that chair, waiting for him to wake up? "I was really starting to worry that you were going to sleep another day."

Motomiya looked exhausted despite the nap she must have taken while he was out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." Her smile made that fuzzy, fluttering feeling returning.

"Don't worry about it. I understand." Ken smiled at her, feeling the pain slowly going away.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days… no, three days. It's seven in the afternoon now."

"Three?" Ken wanted to shriek, but didn't. Not unless he wanted to wake Kouji up.

"I'm not that surprised. You haven't slept very well in three months. It was only a matter of time before your body shut down on you."

Ken looked down, guilt slowly creeping in. "Are you hungry?"

"A little." She smiled brightly at him. Something fluttered in his chest.

"Great! Daisuke said you might be hungry when you woke up. He left a big pot of soup before leaving for work this morning. Actually," she looked at the clock on his nightstand, "he should be here any minute now." There was then the sound of a door opening and then the sound of something glass crashing to the ground.

"What was that?" She was silent, but judging by the exasperated look on her face, she knew exactly what was happening.

"Yukimi Botamon." Wait, what? He's here? "He's been hiding under the sofa since Barbamon opened a portal home for us. Yagami and Daisuke had been trying to get him out for the past three days. He'll come out when Kouji's awake. But he disappears once he notices one of us."

Ken didn't allow himself to wait a second longer as he got out of bed and made his way towards the noise. They passed by several boxes on the way there, each one caused a tightening in his throat.

"Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!" Yukimi Botamon's screams could be heard from down the hall, frantic in his want to escape. Ken and Motomiya stepped into the living room, just in time to witness the chaos. Yukimi Botamon was running back and forth as Taichi and Daisuke tried to catch the elusive Digimon before he could hurt himself. Meanwhile, Hikari and Meiko were trying their best to calm Kouji down, who was crying in Hikari's arms.

Hikari was the first to notice him as he gazed at the chaos. "Ken-kun! You're awake!" Everyone froze and looked in his direction. Once the initial shock passed, everyone smiled, relief passing through all of their features as they made their way over to him. Yukimi Botamon was the first to get to him as he jumped into his arms at amazing speed before Taichi and Daisuke could stop him.

"Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!" Ken held the small trembling Digimon, whispering words of comfort until he was satisfied that Ken was not going to leave him alone, again.

"It's okay. I'm okay now, see?" The Digimon snuggled into his chest, his cries forgotten, as he smiled up at him.

"Yuki!"

"Well, he's certainly happy to see you," Meiko said with a smile.

"He's not the only one," Hikari said as Kouji took notice of his father, reaching out for him desperately, his cries echoing around the room.

Ken passed an unhappy Yukimi Botamon to Motomiya. The small Digimon pulled himself out of her arms and rested against Ken's leg as Ken took Kouji into his welcoming arms. "It's okay, Kouji. Papa's here. Papa's not going anywhere. Promise." Kouji continued to cry for several minutes until he was sure his father would not disappear again. "I'm sorry. I'll never leave you again."

Ken looked up with teary eyes to see Daisuke, Hikari, and Meiko in front of him, all worried about him, but all relieved to know he was okay. However, Taichi was still several feet away, looking at anywhere but at him. Ken walked over to him with the others still watching in confusion.

"Taichi."

He looked up at him. Guilt was in his brown orbs. He knew. He knew all along. "Daisuke said the Demon Lords removed the seal."

Ken nodded, not all that surprised that he knew. "Yes, they did. I'm starting to remember everything."

"That's good," he said, trying to smile, but it did not look right on his face. "I never forgot you. I visited all your games for three years straight, but I could never bring myself to talk to you. I didn't want to accidentally activate that seal. I didn't want it to kill you." Everyone looked at Taichi in surprise. He had never told anyone about this.

"It's okay, Taichi."

"Okay?" His voice rose slightly. "How can it be okay? I failed to protect you when you needed me! I couldn't protect you when Gennai placed that seal on you! And I couldn't tell anyone about what happened, no matter how much I wanted to! I broke Akiyama's promise."

"No, you didn't. You did everything you could within your limits. They threatened you. There was nothing you could have done." The girls looked at each other, anger and concern simmering in their eyes. "You still looked after me, even when I couldn't remember you. I was never really alone because of you." Taichi opened his mouth to retort the comment, but Ken wouldn't let him. No more guilt. No more pain. He was sick of it.

"Could you have done more, maybe. But you still protected me from afar. You still came after me even when it looked like I was so far gone. I can never fault you for that, Taichi."

"I guess," he said, still not believing him. "I really wish we could have gotten to the TV set. Maybe all of this could have been avoided."

"We never made it?" He shook his head. "Zhuqiaomon's destroyed it before we could even get there. They tortured you and I couldn't do anything." Ken sighed. The aftermath of that war was still a bit fuzzy. He remembered some, but not everything.

"Will you tell me?"

Taichi was silent for a moment as he glanced at his sister and wife. The two of them were frowning slightly, but they knew not to comment. This was something he had to do on his own. Regardless, they gave him small supportive smiles. It was okay now. It was time to tell the truth. "Do you really want to know?"

No, he really didn't, but he needed to know. He wouldn't be able to put the past behind him without knowing what happened. "No more secrets." Ken smiled softly. "I'm ready to know now."

Taichi closed his eyes and slowly smiled. "No more secret."


	5. Chapter 5

**December 20, 2017**

"Papa!"

"Yuki! Yuki!"

Ken smiled as he glanced down at his two boys as they played on the kitchen floor. Now that Kouji was one, the little boy just couldn't stay out of trouble. He always wanted to be with his father, showing him how far he could walk without help and just about how many blocks and two cars he could pick up with his tiny fingers. It was cute when Yukimi Botamon joined in, starting a laughing fit between the two.

The two boys were currently building some sort of tower with colorful blocks and Kouji's toy cars. Although, Ken couldn't make head or tails where the front of the tower began and where it ended.

"Oh, that's a nice tower. Where's the door?" The two blinked as they looked at the tower, realizing there was no gap for the door or the windows. It was just a mishmash structure of blocks.

"Papa. Papa?"

"Yuki. Yuki."

And then they tore down the tower to start over. Ken laughed, shaking his head as he scooped rice, salmon, and mashed sweet potato on three plates and some sliced apples, bananas, and mangos in a light sauce for dessert into three small bowls. Ken placed everything on a tray and glanced down once again and, not for the first time, Ken longed to see three instead of two.

Ken felt a tightness in his chest, knowing that he will never have the chance to raise Kouichi. Kouichi was gone, his small body never recovered from the blazing apartment he never should have been in. The pain flared up again, but he pushed it aside. He could not allow himself to grieve yet. Kouji and Yukimi Botamon needed him.

"Come along. Dinners ready." The two were quick to follow after him. Once everything was on the table, Ken picked Kouji up and placed him in his high chair, followed by picking up Yukimi Botamon and placing him in front of his bowl of food. But before Ken could take his own seat, the doorbell rang.

Who would be coming this late?

Ken got up, a flicker of fear in his eyes. No one has forgotten the invasion of Vamdemon, Yggdrasill's warriors, and Meicrackmon. There were still many people afraid, including the government. There were many Anti-Digimon groups out there across the world. Despite the Digimon being home and not being around for many years, there were those who wanted the Digital World eradicated. But that would never happen as long as the Chosen banded together to fight for a world they were chosen to protect.

They were stronger together and protected each other even against their own government. It was because of them, the true protectors of the Digital World that they couldn't even gain access to the other world, but that didn't stop the harassment. It was one thing to be betrayed by his own partner for refusing to give government officials any information about the Digital World — it was such a relief that he didn't have to deal with that jerk anymore — but it was something different altogether for someone to try to break into his own home.

Ken desperately wanted to leave after what happened last week, but he didn't have the money to cancel his lease early. He was stuck here for another four years.

Ken silently got up, noticing his boys' wide frightened eyes. They were all still shaken up about the week prior.

"Yuki, protect Kouji." The small Digimon bounced across the table, positioning himself on Kouji's feeding table. His little beaded eyes traveled around in front of him as he looked for a potential threat.

Ken slowly made his way over to the door, his pistol, which he always kept on him now, raised. The five chains Ken had on the door, shook slightly as someone knocked loudly on the door. Ken stiffened. No...was someone trying to break in again? Maybe he should call Daisuke. He should still be at the restaurant. Or maybe Noriko. They were partners now ever since Satsuma got transferred to their sister location of Kanagawa for throwing him in jail and allowing unauthorized government officials to interrogate him for hours. Ken had never been more grateful to Iori than he had been on that day.

"Godfather, open up! It's me, Masaru!" Ken blinked as he felt the tension fall off his shoulders. He looked through the peephole and was surprised to see Masaru and his father, Suguru Daimon, right outside his door. What were they doing here?

"Suguru, what are you doing here?" Ken removed the chains to open the door.

"Sayuri's mad at me." He held a duffle bag in his hand, a sheepish smile on his features. "Mind if we crash here for a few days."

"Yes, yes. Come in." He gestured them inside, but not before looking out the door, weapon still in hand. There was a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I should have called first." Ken let out the breath he had been holding and closed the door, placing the chains back in place.

"It's fine." Ken gave a weak smile. "I'm still a bit on edge I guess."

"Understandable. After everything that's happened, I would be on edge too."

Ken smiled softly at his friend. "Godfather?" Masaru tugged the edge of his dress pants. "I'm hungry."

Ken's smile was big and bright. "You two came just in time then. I just finished cooking. Why don't you join Kouji and Yukimi Botamon at the table, Masaru? And I'll go fix up two more plates."

"Okay!" Masaru ran to the dining room, while the two fathers walked at a much slower pace.

"What was it this time?" This had to be the third time this month Sayuri had kicked him out.

He sighed. "She doesn't like that I'm going to the expedition Sunday."

"She right." Suguru's face fell. He had been hoping Ken would take his side. "You should be here with your wife on Christmas Eve, not trespassing on another world you have no business being in."

"But Kenji and Misuzu's son is there!"

"And whose fault was that?!" Ken had stopped walking then to glare angrily at his friend. "I've warned you time and time again not to force a portal open. The barriers were already weakened, no thanks to Yggdrasill and Gennai's dark counterpart. But now portals from the unstable Digital World are opening up all over Japan!"

Ken tried to remain calm. There was no point in getting the kids worked up. But it was easier said than done. The anger just kept on coming. "Don't you know how hard it is to locate those portals before anyone gets caught in it? Koushiro and Miyako are working around the clock to close the portals you set off before the government officials or those Anti-Digimon groups get wind of it!"

Suguru nodded slowly. He was aware. He had gotten to know all the Chosen every well in the five years he had known Ken. Ken and the others had told them of their adventures, both the good and the bad. Despite the pain and suffering they had all went through, they still loved that world and their Digimon friends.

Suguru wanted to see that world for himself. He wanted to talk to them, to study them, to learn from them. He wanted to befriend them, just as Ken had long ago. He wanted to experience the joy and happiness his friend had with his Digimon family.

Of course, his desire to enter the Digital World was further brought forth through the pain and sadness the others felt towards their partners. The Digimon were calling out to them; they were in danger. Suguru knew Ken and the rest of the Chosen wanted to go to the Digital World, but they had no way of getting there. The gates were closed and the barriers were far too unstable for his dear friend to open a portal himself.

He had only wanted to help. He hadn't meant to get the others involved, nor cause problems for his best friend, the one who befriended when no one else would. He had to make this right.

"I'm sorry. I had only wanted to help." Ken sighed.

"You should have come to me the moment you realized why people were going missing. You didn't need to get the Noguchis and Kurata involved." Not that he didn't trust Kenji and Misuzu Noguchi. They were very nice people. In fact, Kenji was one of the Dark Seed Chosen and a good friend. They talked quite regularly. He was the only reason Ken was aware of what his dear friend had been doing behind his back. And Kurata… Ken wasn't sure how he felt about him. He was a fellow genius. They talked frequently at the science and TED conventions, but there was something off about him, something he could not place. "Digimon affairs should only be handled by us or one of the other Chosen."

"I know," he said. "I shouldn't have gone behind your back, but you and the others have so much going on right now. I thought that if I could open up a gate, then maybe I could help get you guys to the Digital World to help your partners." He shook his head, not noticing Ken's harsh gaze softening. "I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have allowed my ambitions to get the best of me. Ikuto's disappearance was my fault. I have to bring him home. It's the least I can do."

Ken frowned slightly at him, but said nothing as they made the short distance to the dining room, where the children were waiting for them. Masaru was pouting at a laughing Kouji as Yukimi Botamon bounced on the four-year-old's head, causing tiny ice sickles to cling to his hair. Ken smiled softly as he and Suguru walked to the kitchen, leaving Masaru in charge of entertaining the two babies for the moment.

"I don't understand it."

"Don't understand what?" Ken grabbed two plates and began piling food on them.

"Yukimi Botamon. He's never like that with me."

"Don't feel bad. He's like that with the others. I'm the only one he's really comfortable with since we found him. And as for Masaru," Ken handed Suguru his plate of food, "he's here so often that Yukimi Botamon has no choice but to warm up to him."

Suguru's confusion soon turned knowing. "In other words, you forced them to get along, if the little guy doesn't want his dessert taken away from him again or get another timeout."

"Don't be ridiculous, Daimon. Yukimi Botamon might be twelve, but he still just a baby. I treat him the same way I treat Kouji."

Suguru simply shrugged, deciding not to question Ken's parenting skills in regards to a Digimon. He was the more experienced of the two after all.

"Come on. This food is making me hungry."

Suguru glanced at him, worried. He was skipping meals just to get to his second job again. "Ken working two jobs isn't good for you. You're going to burn out one of these days."

Ken didn't say anything for a moment. He just stood there, staring at the plate of food in his hands as they stood in the middle of the kitchen.

"I need the money, Suguru. I love my job. Its everything I ever wanted, but I don't make nearly enough to feed three mouths and a mountain of bills on one income. It was fine when it was just me and Kimura, but not know." Ken was clearly stressed out. He didn't want his best friend working himself to death. There had to be a solution to this problem. Ken could always live with him and Sayuri, once she talked to him again. They had a guest room and Ken and his sons could stay there until he was able to sort everything out. That was something to ponder over. "It's just temporary," or at least that's what Ken kept telling himself, "just until I have enough money saved up to leave this place. I really can't stand living here. Too many bad memories."

Suguru didn't argue, but still kept a close eye on his friend as they returned to the table. "Alright children. That's enough." Yukimi Botamon had accidentality iced up a small section of Masaru's shirt. The little Digimon was looking up at him with big round eyes, tears slowly forming.

Ken put the plate down and lifted Yukimi Botamon into his warm arms. "He didn't mean it, Godfather, honest! He slipped off my head when I moved. I caught him and well…"

"I know," Ken reassured. "He's just an excited little baby, aren't you?" The Digimon smiled brightly at him.

"Yuki!" That brought a smile to all their faces as Ken put Yukimi Botamon in front of his plate once more to Ken's left. He and Masaru took the remaining seats across from the Chosen of Kindness. They all ate in silence, for the most part, enjoying each other's company and talking about random stuff. Masaru had kept asking questions about Ken's time in the Digital World. What was it like to be within a world with monsters? When did he first meet his partner? How many did have? Who was the first bad guy he fought? Were the Digimon nice? And so on and so. Ken had been more than happy to remanence about the past, especially on parts that Takeru excluded from his first three novels.

As the hours went by, with the day slowly dwindling to the blackest of night, Suguru found himself alone in the quiet apartment. The children were all sound asleep in Kouji's bedroom except for Yukimi Botamon. The little guy preferred to sleep in Ken's bedroom for some reason he could not understand, no matter how many times Ken tried to explain it to him.

Suguru was currently sitting on Ken's decent-sized brown sofa, watching the news as he waited for his friend to return with some extra blankets and pillows after tucking the boys in. There was really no news on about any more portals opening up across the country, just the usual boring politics and the death of a small child. Whatever Izumi and Inoue were doing to keep everything quiet was working, but how long would they keep this up?

"You're thinking too much again." Ken placed the bedding next to him, his eyes lingering on the tv with a frown. "I really wish they would stop talking about her like that. The family is already grieving enough." Ken took the remote and changed the channel to some kind of Disney Christmas movie. Suguru barely paid any attention to it as Ken took a seat next to him. He had brought out a familiar-looking box.

"Thanks for lending us your digivice. We really learned a lot from it." Ken returned a yellow-orange and black rectangular digivice to him. Suguru held the familiar device in his hands. The digivice's screen lit to life once more. A strange energy sensation coursed throughout his body, one he had only felt four and a half years ago when this device and two others came out of Ken's laptop back when they had still been dorming at Tokyo University.

"Yeah, no prob. Did you guys find anything out?" Izumi had it for four years. He had hoped the geniuses had found something out by now.

Ken nodded. "Yeah. The digivice had a lot of coding in Digimoji to sort through, so it took quite a bit of time." Ken pointed to his digivice. "Yours we're calling the Digivice Burst. It has a lot more features, then the other two Digivice iC. Based on what we already know of the iC Beelzebumon gave me awhile back, they have the capability of storing information about a Digimon, maps, and has a tracking feature. Ours can hold an infinite number of Digimon for traveling or healing, while the other two have a restriction of two and don't really have the healing feature."

"Wow."

"I know right. Anyway, the digivices use energy to evolve a Digimon, but these devices somehow makes the energy take on a physical form if the emotion is pure enough." Suguru ran his hand through his hair, a bit perplexed. "These new models do seem to lack a communication feature. I'm giving you this D-Terminal, so you can still stay in contact with us." Ken removed the D-Terminal from the box and gave it to him, followed by two other items from the box: a purple-gray digivice and a small rectangular pendant. "I want you to take these with you."

"Is this the prototype you and Montgomery-san were talking about for a — what where you guys calling it again?"

Ken blinked. "Digital Accident Tactics Squad."

Suguru scrunched up his nose at that. "That's quite a mouthful, Ken." His fingers drummed his lap as he thought. "How about D.A.T.S.? Has a nice ring to it and far easier to remember, don't you think?"

"D.A.T.S.," the word rolled off his tongue as he tested out the name. Slowly, very slowly he nodded. "Yeah, I see where you're coming from. It does have a nice ring to it." Ken smiled at him. "I'll run this through Koushiro tomorrow afternoon at the meeting. You're more than welcome to come. You're one of us."

"I'll think about it." He? A Chosen? He wasn't too sure. He was always the nerdy kid down the block. He had no friends since childhood and all he did was lock himself in his room, reading every science textbook he could find. Ken had been genuinely his only real friend when he entered college and as time went on he had gotten more in the form of the other Chosen. He had always dreamed of being one of them, but he knew that was a dream he would never reach.

He wasn't a hero. He couldn't save lives as Ken could. He couldn't decrypt impossible coding of a foreign language like Izumi and Inoue could. He couldn't even be a good husband and father. He was sure Sayuri's patience was nearing the breaking point. He was certain one day he would come home and she would be gone, her wedding ring lying abandoned on the table and his children gone.

"You know a digivice, no matter the model, only responds to its owner." Ken smiled at him, knowingly. "It was always yours, Suguru. One day you will meet your partner and he or she will trust you, cherish you, and embrace you with all your wonderful faults and quirks, just as I do."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. I believe you, Suguru. I always have. I wouldn't trust you with my secrets that only Daisuke knows about if I didn't."

Suguru looked down where Ken had rested his hand over his, giving it a small reassuring squeeze. Ken trusted him. He believed in him. He couldn't let him down. He owed him that much, right?

"How far along are you guys?"

The comfort of Ken's hand was gone as he went to retrieve the glass of water he left on the coffee table. "Wallace-san and some of the other American Chosen are still getting all the licensing in order, but once that's done we should have our first organization up and running in about a year."

"That's a long time."

"The year goes pretty fast," Ken commented lightly. "If all goes smoothly in American, we can then expand to other countries where the other Chosen are. It will be a lot easier to protect the Digimon from the government and those Anti-Digimon groups."

Suguru nodded as he held the second digivice and the pendant in his hands. "Why are you given me these?"

"It might be nothing, but I believe one of the individuals going with you to the Digital World is a Tamer."

"Really, who?"

He shrugged. "I can't be certain, Suguru, and don't take my word for it, but it could belong to either Kenji-san's son or his wife."

"Are you sure?"

"No," he sighed, "just a feeling." It was not unusual for Ken to have these feelings. He and Yagami were the most intuitive in the group and they were generally 95.99% right most of the time. Ken didn't like to talk about it, but Suguru had a feeling it was due to Ken being the King of the Digital World. "Don't take my word for it. If the digivice reacts to her touch, it's hers. Regardless, I have a bad feeling you might need it."

Suguru nodded, taking Ken's concern to heart. He gently traced the strange foreign language on the small pendant Ken gave him.

"I don't think I have to remind you to be careful out there. I don't know what type of environment Yggdrasill created and I don't particularly like that Yushima, Satsuma, and Kurata are going with you. They have no business being there."

"It was a package deal," he explained. "Yushima promised Satsuma will be on his best behavior." And well, he couldn't go anywhere without his assistant. "He doesn't want any more problems with you guys. He truly is sorry."

"If Satsuma was truly sorry, he would have said so himself," Ken mumbled under his breath, but said nothing more on the subject. An uncomfortable silence filled the air, forcing Suguru to change the subject. "Is this Digimoji?"

"Yeah," Ken nodded, glad for the change of topic, "I inscribed a protective spell that Barbamon taught me awhile back. You will most likely run into one of the Royal Knights, Dark Gennai, or even Yggdrasill. I hope you don't, but if you do this pendant will protect you from all Digimon and magic attacks. And," he added, "if, god forbid, you do run into trouble you can't handle, find one of the Olympos XII and show them the pendant. They will help you."

"Thank you." Suguru tucked the pendant under his shirt, where he kept his sterling silver dog tag necklace. "I promise I'll be careful."

The Chosen sighed, his eyes turning to the tv that was now showing A Christmas Carol. "Why doesn't that reassure me?"


	6. Chapter 6

**December 25, 2020**

Ken stared blankly at the ceiling, frowning at his predicament. Today was the first day in three weeks that he could sleep in and not worry about his jobs. He should be out cold, sleeping in the comfort of his bed, sated with the knowledge that he worked enough hours to combat the rising price of his rent. But he wasn't. He hadn't fallen asleep since the moment he laid his aching, stiff body on the soft, warm mattress.

Ken pulled the covers closer to him as he shivered violently. Why was he so cold? Did he forget to set the thermostat again? He frowned at himself as he tried to get air into his lung. His chest felt too tight, almost to the point of suffocating. Was he having an asthma attack? He's been taking his medicine, hadn't he?

Ken sat up slowly, careful not to awaken Yukimi Botamon, and glanced at his nightstand. The red glow of the clock mocked him as it changed to 5:45 AM. Six hours. He had been awake for six hours, despite the exhaustion coursing through this body.

Sleep. All he wanted was to sleep.

Ken blindly looked around the nightstand. There was the dreaded clock, his lamp, his pistol, his journal, but no inhaler. Wait, what? He would have sworn he had it on him last night. Did he drop it?

A strangling coughing fit suddenly hit him with so much force that Ken felt whatever air he had in his lungs leave him completely. Winded, Ken staggered to his feet, the room spun violently as he staggered to the door. His movements were slow as he silently tried to suppress the coughing fits attacking him one after the other.

He needed his inhaler. He needed it now!

As Ken passed his son's room, the single father saw his son sleeping peacefully in his bed, while Takuya and Masaru slept on their futons in peaceful slumber. Despite his weakness, Ken smiled. For them, he would do anything.

Ken continued his descent down the hall, his eyes searching for the small red device that would reopen the passageway to his lungs. The sound of movement in the kitchen caught his attention. To his right, Ken noticed that the kitchen lights were on and that the fridge was wide open. Someone was looking through the fridge.

Ken took a few gulps of air, trying to breathe through the tightness in his chest, as he tried to remember who had been staying here. After the whole attempted break-in three years ago, they had all agreed being alone was not an option. Ken had been fine for the most part, Noriko had lived across the hall from him for many years. But she had moved in with her girlfriend about a year ago. He was happy for her. They all were.

Even when Noriko had been across from him, Daisuke, his brother, or one of the others made sure he, nor anyone else was alone. It was the buddy system as Taichi had called it.

Having Daisuke, his brother or Miyako around did make him feel safe, especially since they took care of Kouji while he was at work. Lately, however, Julieanna was one staying over more and more. Ken really did like Julieanna. She made him feel really happy, more than Kimura ever had. She was sweet, compassionate, and very loving to his son.

She never pushed him into a relationship. Julieanna knew Ken was not ready to open up his heart to someone else after she had somehow managed to piece together all the little pieces back together. Kouji was first. Ken would always put him first and she knew this. She did not push; she did not complain, nor protest, nor argue for she knew Ken would open up one day. Ken always had that lingering guilt in the back of his mind that he was disappointing her somehow.

"Ken?" Ken opened his eyes — when had he closed them? — and looked into warm, loving brown eyes. Julieanna, he realized, had been in the process of making egg omelets for everyone before he disturbed her. "You okay?"

He tried to speak, but his voice faltered. Why was it so hard to breathe? "J-Jul-ie-anna…" he wheezed out. "Can't… breathe…" and then his legs buckled under him.

Julieanna dropped the carton of eggs she had just pulled out of the fridge and rushed forward, catching him before he fell to the ground. "Ken, Ken, come on, try to breathe with me." Ken tried to, he really did, but it was so hard. He could barely get the air into his lung as the two of them sat together on the floor.

"Julie-anna," he managed to choke out, "in-hal-er." Despite barely getting the words out, Julieanna was quick to understand.

"Right, right. You left it on the table after you finished eating that new soup Daisuke wanted you to try out." Julieanna got to her feet and quickly disappeared out of the kitchen.

Ken sat on the floor in silence as he tried to concentrate on his breathing. With each breath he struggled to take, the weaker he got from the lack of oxygen entering his lungs. He closed his eyes as the room began to spin once more. He tried to calm down, tried to take a breath, but… he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He wrapped his arms around himself. Cold. Everything was so cold.

"Here." Julieanna was by his side once more, supporting him as she placed the mouthpiece between his lips and pressed the puffer down. As the medicine entered his lungs, Ken felt his airway opening up, allowing him to breathe once more. Julieanna remained by his side, watching him carefully, making sure he didn't need another dose of medicine or a trip to the hospital.

"Thank you," Ken said fifteen minutes later, his head resting on her shoulder.

Julieanna was silent. Tired amethyst glanced up at her. She was frowning as she gently felt his flushed cheeks first and then his forehead. "Oh, dear. You're burning up." A fever? Well, that would explain the sudden asthma attack and why he felt so cold despite the thermostat reading 80°F. Then again, he had been a bit off all week. "I really wish you wouldn't push yourself like this."

Ken averted his gaze. "Sorry, didn't mean to worry you."

"Of course, I'm going to worry! I worry about you every day!" Her voice rose just a bit. "I can't stand seeing you struggling to pay a greedy landlord that just keeps rising the rent 5000 yen every three months. You're suffering and I hate it!" Julieanna's voice lowered to barely above a whisper. "I love you, Ken. Please, just let me help you."

Ken sighed. He should have realized she would not take no for an answer. "I-I can't take your money. You worked so hard for it. It wouldn't be right."

"It's not taking when I'm giving it to you, Ken-kun." She smiled slightly. "I've been working since I was five, remember. I have enough money from all the photoshoots, other minor gigs, and commercial royalties to retire early."

"Why don't you?"

"I love what I do. Yes, one day I would like to settle down and have a family. But you are not ready to let me in. Kouji will always be your world. You will always put him first over me and I'm okay with that." Ken returned his gaze to her, puzzled slightly. "You are not ready to let me into your inner core and that's okay. I can wait. But I will not stand by any longer and watch you slowly work yourself to death just to keep a roof over your head and food on the table for you and the boys."

Ken knew what she was going to say. It was a conversation they had once before, but Ken could not get a word in. "I am going to pay all your bills and pay what needs to be paid to cancel your lease early. You are going to quit your second job and come live with me at my three-story mansion. You are going to take care of yourself, Ken. I am not going to take no for an answer."

Ken was getting a very familiar sense of deja vu. Hadn't Daisuke done something similar to this at one point? "I don't have much say in this, do I?" Ken's shoulders sagged. He knew he lost this argument. Besides, he didn't have the strength to argue with her.

"Of course you do!" Julieanna was flustered now. She took a moment to calm herself before speaking again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. It's just that I'm afraid I'll wake up one day and you'll be passed out somewhere or having an asthma attack like the one you just had and I'm not there to help you."

Ken was silent as she spoke. He could hear the fear in her voice and can see the concern in her eyes. He felt the warm feeling return and at that moment he wanted to chase those fears away. He wanted to hold her and kiss her until everything was okay.

Ken closed his eyes. Could he be falling for her? Well, it wouldn't be the worse thing that's happened to him and Julieanna did say she loved him. She had for many years now. She was just waiting for him. She would always wait for him.

"You haven't slept at all, have you?"

He opened his eyes. Before he could answer he was hit by another round of coughs. "No… cold."

Julieanna nodded in understanding. "Come on. Let's get you to bed." Julieanna helped him to his feet, supporting him as he swayed unsteadily. The walk back to his room was slow and exhausting. Ken all but collapsed onto the bed once it was in reach. The movement, however, awoken Yukimi Botamon from his peaceful slumber.

"Yuki?!"

"It's okay, Yuki. Ken's just not feeling well," she explained to the small Digimon, who shifted closer to his father in concern. Ken felt the small body pressing against his heated flesh. It felt so nice. "I'll be right back." Then she was gone, leaving him alone with his adopted son.

"Yu-ki. Yuki?" Ken sighed softly as Yukimi Botamon rubbed himself against his cheek.

"I'm sorry I woke you. I was trying not too." The small Digimon just rubbed his small cool body against his cheek in reassurance. Ken must have dozed off at some point because the next thing he knew Julieanna was shaking his shoulder lightly.

"Hmm?"

"Open your mouth. I'm going to check your temperature." Ken did what he was told. His movements were slow, his limbs felt heavy and he couldn't react as quickly as he probably should. Ken was only vaguely aware of Julieanna frowning slightly as she placed the cold metal tip of the thermometer under his tongue.

Minutes went by with Julieanna looking more and more worried as she watched the number on the digital thermometer rise. When she removed it, she gasped. Yukimi Botamon stopped rubbing his small body against his cheek to look up at her with wide frightened eyes.

105°F flashed on the small screen. Ken closed his eyes, uncertain if that was a bad sign or not. "His temperature too high! We need to cool him down!" Yukimi Botamon got straight to work, touching other parts of his face and occasionally blowing cool puffs of air onto his face in an attempt to cool him down as Julieanna rushed out of the room. Julieanna soon returned minutes later with a bowl of water and a towel.

She unbuttoned his nightshirt and began wiping down his chest with the damp towel. Ken flinched from the sudden change of temperature. "Cold."

The frown never left her delicate features. "I know, I'm sorry," she said as she continued to wipe down his chest. "Your fevers spiked dangerously high. I need to cool you down before you end up in the hospital." Julieanna and Yukimi Botamon continued to work in silence with the two occasionally switch areas to make sure every piece of visible skin was cooled down. Ken closed his eyes as Julieanna began gently working on his face. The damp towel was starting to feel nice now.

"I think that's good for now." Julieanna placed the towel back into the bowl and slowly shifted him into a sitting position so that he could take some medicine for the fever. Julieanna tipped a cup of cough syrup into his mouth, followed by a glass of water. He grimaced at the strong taste. "I'm going to let you rest for a while."

Julieanna pulled up the sheets after he got into a comfortable position. "Try to get some rest. I'll be back to check up on you in a little bit." Ken closed his eyes as he felt her place the damp towel on his forehead. Her finger lingered on his temple for a minute too long, providing him with the comfort that she wouldn't be far away.

The feeling was then gone. "Call me if his condition changes or if he wakes up. I'll be just down the hall."

"Yuki!" Ken could almost imagine the Digimon saluting to the elder woman before snuggling up against his exposed chest. The sound of feet against floorboards began to grow distant as Julieanna turned off the lights and left the room. With Julieanna's warm presence gone, leaving him alone once more, Ken traveled through the waves of his fever as he fell into a feverish sleep.

* * *

"Look, it's snowing!" Kouji looked out his window, watching the small white snowflakes as they fell to the ground gracefully, almost like a dance. The four-year-old was mesmerized, he wanted to play in the snow with Masaru and Takuya, and Yuki. Masaru and Takuya were right next to him, watching the snow with him as the sun rose high into the sky, but Yuki was in his father's room and Kouji was reluctant to disturb his father.

Ken didn't look so good last night when he came home from work. Kouji had pretended to be asleep when he was supposed to be sleeping. Kouji had simply wanted to make sure his father was okay. He had been working so much lately and he had been so upset about something that it worried the young Minamoto.

He had watched his father stagger into the apartment, almost as if he was in pain. Not only had he looked so very tired, but he was also really pale. Kouji gripped his favorite stuffed wolf tightly to his chest. He had heard his father trying to suppress a cough last night. Actually, now that he thought about it, the coughing had not stopped until early this morning.

And speaking of this morning, his father seemed to be struggling to breathe as he passed by his room several hours ago. It had kinda scared him. He knew his father had asthma, the result of someone setting a house he and his partner had been investigating ablaze while the two were still inside last year.

Kouji had only seen his father get an asthma attack once when his uncle was here. He had been terrified. He could have lost his father and that terrified him.

"You think Julieanna will let us wake Ojisan now?" Takuya asked, hopefully. They hadn't wanted to open their presents until his father was awake. It was now three in the afternoon and his father had yet to leave his room. Masaru and Takuya had been talking about waking him up, but Julieanna had made it clear during breakfast that Ken was very unwell and needed rest.

They had spent the last nine hours playing Masaru's made up games and some video games Daisuke had given him for his birthday. They had been very patient, especially after hearing Julieanna fretting on the phone with someone named Kido for the past two hours. Should he be worried?

"Maybe we should check up on him." The two looked up to Masaru. Masaru, being the oldest of the three, often made tough decisions in their small group. "It wouldn't hurt, right?

"I guess," Kouji admitted. "But Mama said to not bother him."

"But Kouji, it's been hours already," Takuya whined. "He should be awake by now and bored out of his mind."

"Even the more reason to let Papa sleep," Kouji stubbornly countered. "I think he's really sick, guys. I heard him struggling to breathe earlier." Masaru's eyes grew wide, frightened, concerned.

"An asthma attack? Are you sure?" Masaru questioned. He shrugged. He wasn't sure if his father really did go into a full-on asthma attack. Julieanna hadn't said anything about that, so he guessed his Papa must be fine. The fever was the only thing she kept mentioning when she was on the phone with one of his Papa's friends.

"Come on," Masaru jumped off the bed and made his way over to the door, "let's go check up on him!" Takuya was quick to follow after him.

"Wait, Masaru, Takuya! We should really let him rest!"

"If he really did have an asthma attack, we need to make sure he's okay." Kouji frowned as he rushed after him. After Masaru's father's disappearance, Ken had taken up the role of being the father figure Masaru and his sister needed.

"But Masaru!"

Masaru was not listening now. He was determined to get to his segregated father's room. The three of them ran past the dining room and the kitchen, unknowingly passing a pile of bills left on the dining room table, and down the hall. As they approached his father's bedroom, they could hear Yuki's worried little squeaks as he looked at the thermometer in Ken's mouth.

"Godfather!"

"Ojisan!" The two adults and the small Digimon jumped slightly as Masaru suddenly barged into the room with him and Takuya right at his heels. Ken, who was unable to talk due to the thermometer in his mouth, looked at them in concern as Julieanna jumped to her feet, accidentally knocking the glass of water off the nightstand. The contents of the glass somehow missing Ken and ended up drenching Yuki.

The boys flinched at the loud screech Yuki produced as he propellered himself into Ken's warm embrace.

"Oh my god, Yuki! I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Yuki made small squeaky noises, but refused to leave Ken's arms. It took several minutes to calm him down, but somehow his father managed to do it without words.

"What's gotten into you three?" Julieanna asked as she removed the thermometer from Ken's mouth.

"Sorry, we heard you had an asthma attack. We were worried it was as bad as the last time," Takuya said as he shifted from foot to foot.

The two adults looked at each other. Something passed between the two of them, but Kouji wasn't sure what. "Who told you that?" Julieanna asked. She didn't seem upset, just concerned. "Was it your imaginary friend again?"

Takuya glanced at him, but before he could confess Masaru spoke up. "It was me. I heard you passing by the room this morning. It sounded like you were having trouble breathing." Masaru's bottom lip trembled slightly. "Is it true? Did you really have an asthma attack?" Ken frowned slightly, half worried, half guilty, even though this was something he couldn't control.

"Come here, boys." They all climbed onto his bed and snuggled close when Ken opened his arms. Ken kissed his forehead softly. From up close, Kouji could feel the slight dampness of his father's nightshirt and the heat coming off his father's skin. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, boys."

"So it's true?" Kouji asked, clinging to his father slightly.

"Yeah, it true. I pushed my body more than I should have," he said sheepishly. "I ignored my body's desire for rest. That's why I got an asthma attack. But I'm okay, now. Julieanna's been taking care of me."

"Mama?" Kouji blinked, looking at Julieanna with a bright smile. "Thank you, Mama!"

Julieanna blushed slightly. "I didn't do anything special." She grabbed the empty cup of tea Ken had been drinking earlier and the empty glass of water.

Kouji just hugged his father. "So Papa 'kay now?"

Julieanna smiled softly at him. "His fever went down to 102," she reassured as she placed the thermometer on the nightstand. "He still has a fever, but it's definitely an improvement from his morning."

Ken smiled weakly. "I should hope so, I've been sleeping most of the day."

"Does that mean we can open the presents now?" Takuya and Masaru looked at Julieanna hopefully.

"I don't know. Ken is still not well enough to get out of bed yet." Their faces fell. "But we can open them here, while Ken has his lunch, if he's well enough for that."

"I think I'll be okay."

"Alright," the boys yelled as they ran out of the room with Julieanna close behind. Kouji rested his head on his father's chest, listening to the sound of his heart. The sound of his heartbeat was very comforting. His Papa was not gone. He was not leaving him.

"I love you, Papa."

"I love you too, son."

"Yuki!" Yuki — deciding he had spent enough time on Ken's pillow, silently—jumped on Kouji's head, messing up his hair.

"Yuki!" Ken chuckled slightly at his surprised yelp.

"I love you too," Ken said as he scratched behind Yuki's ears. "Would you like to get the gift for me?" he asked after several minutes passed by. Yuki squeaked and dove straight for the closet, where he returned with a small gift wrapped in blue paper in his mouth.

Ken took the present and gave it to him. "Merry Christmas, Kouji." Kouji took the present and held it in his hands. "I had wanted to give it to you this morning," he managed to say before he had to turn around to cough onto his arm.

"Papa!"

Wheezing slightly, Ken took two puffs of his inhaler. His father laid back down on his pillow. "I'm okay. I'm okay. I just need to rest some more." He smiled weakly at his son. "Why don't you open your present, Kouji?"

"Okay." Kouji slowly opened the present. Even when he was sick, his father always put him first.

As he opened the box, he gasped. Within the small brown box was a blue bandana. "Thank you, Papa."

"My mother loved collecting those. I could never get into it… I wished I had." He smiled sadly. He really missed her. "It was one of the few things I have left of her. I know you will take good care of it."

"I will! I promise!" He hugged him tightly, feeling arms wrapping around him. "Merry Christmas, Papa."

"Merry Christmas, Kouji."


End file.
